The Adventures of the Blue Coat Pirates
by Axelpro
Summary: A What-if scenario: What if Ace and Luffy never make it out from the fire and Sabo is left alone? This story follows a 20 year old Sabo as breaks into the Great Pirate age!
1. Intro

**The Adventures of the Blue Coat Pirates**

What-if Scenario: What if Luffy and Ace die in the Gray Terminal fire. Then Sabo goes and actually finds their corpses.

What to expect

Rather than throw in a number OCs for protaganists as I like to do I will be changing existing characters due to the lack of Luffy's influence, and later a lack of Ace's influence will be seen as well. On top of this I decided to make some other tweaks that can be chalked up to being an Alternate Universe, if you will. Probably the first thing you will notice is that I gave Sabo a full name to mark him as the main character.

The most notable thing is obviously that the crew assembled by Sabo will definitely not be the same crew Luffy had. Other things to note will be that a number of OCs will be entered as antagonists, seeing as how it only makes sense that Sabo not fight all of the same villains.

A Sneak Peak

Two of Sabo's crew members: Coby and Nami

Important Villains: Cipher Pol


	2. Enter Sabo, Age 20

Edit: I tried to use stars ' ***** ' for the partitions in the story but they apparently don't take so I used the lines instead. Should make things easier to read.

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><p>The large city was bustling with activity. People were coming and going from the busy marketplace, from the looks of it everyone had something to buy today. A small tent seemed to be doing a great deal of business that day. The owner, a middle-aged man, was waving customers in and giving them cheerful greetings.<p>

"Ah things are going good today too, wouldn't you say Sho?" The middle-aged man asked as he waved more customers in. The comment was directed to the young man sitting at the nearby desk. This young man was busy taking down orders on a long scroll of parchment.

The young man said a few words to the customer in front of him and in response the customer set down a few bills smiled and left. "Well dad…" the Sho began. "It's because Rory's Furniture is the best furniture making company in the entire kingdom." Sho processed another customer, "Not to mention everyone is always trying to improve their image so they constantly want newer furniture." Rory nodded as he waved more customers in to get their orders processed.

Unbeknownst to the two a scruffy looking man snuck into the small crowd that had gathered around the tent. Slowly but surely he inched through the crowd, moving ever closer to Sho. The man began to eye the chest, a chest that shared dimensions with a common jewelry box, which was sitting out on the table. The man could only assume that, at the very least, the chest contained the earnings for the day. Even if it was only for the day the man had been watching for some time and he knew that the tent had been seeing considerable business. He swallowed hard realizing that with that chest he would be able to feed himself for who knows how long.

The man swallowed again and steeled his resolve. He pushed one of the wealthier looking clients into the table and at the same time reached for the chest. As planned the person he pushed stumbled into the table knocking it over, but the man was able to grab the chest before it fell with the table. With the bounty in his hands the man took off attempting to make it to the poorer sections of the city in order to lose the guard.

"Ah!" Sho said as was knocked over. Despite being knocked over Sho was able to see the crime happen and as such he scrambled to his feet. "D-d-dad" He stuttered pointing at the man as he increased his distance.

"What? Are you hurt son!" Rory said as he looked at his son, eyes full of worry.

"That man stole our earnings for the whole week!"

"What did you say!" Rory cried aloud as he turned to look at the escaping man. _"That's at least a hundred orders worth in that chest! We won't be able to complete the orders without that money!"_ Rory troubled thoughts compounded at an alarming rate. "Somebody! Stop that thief!" He finally let out.

Almost as if answering his call a young man stepped out from an alleyway. The young man stared down the sprinting thief. "Outta the way!" The thief roared as he approached the young man. To further persuade the young man the thief brandished his small knife with intent to stab the young man. "Do you want to die! I said move!" The thief shouted again as he was getting close to the young man.

In a matter of seconds the entire situation was diffused. As the thief closed in he made a full thrust attempting to stab the young man, but the young man sidestepped the thrust with ease. Surprised that he missed the thief went to make another stab before running, but found that he couldn't retract his arm. Then before he realized it his line of sight was looking at the ground, then behind him, then the sky. With a thud the thief hit the ground and the air escaped him in an instant.

A smile came over Rory's face as he saw the scene unfold. "Master Sabo!" Rory shouted as he ran over to the young man and the downed thief. A number of the customers as well as Sho followed Rory.

The young man knelt down and plucked the chest from the thief's grasp. When Rory arrived he rose back up to his feet and handed the small chest. "I told you not to call me 'Master' just Sabo is fine." The young man proceeded to dust his pants off to make sure that they were clean. His expensive designs that the young man wore said that he was of a high ranking noble family.

"What do you mean? I can't call you just Sabo, you're a noble. It wouldn't be right." After a moment of pondering a light bulb went off in Rory's head. "What about Mr. Whitewood?"

Sabo appeared to be getting a tad annoyed with Rory's stubbornness, "Sabo! Just Sabo!" Rory couldn't help but laugh at the strange outburst; he was followed by the other customers. Sabo couldn't help but let his smile return "Ah well, at least your funds are safe."

Rory nodded in gratitude, "Yes, we wouldn't be able to pay your father his share of the profits as the owner if our money was stolen."

Sabo smiled and knocked on Rory's forehead lightly, "Idiot, you should be more worried that you wouldn't be able to pay your workers or feed your family. We would have managed without the money, but you wouldn't have. I got that chest back for you."

Sho stepped out from the crowd and touched his forehead to the ground "I'm eternally grateful for you always looking out for us Master Sabo!" Rory smiled when he saw his son properly thanking their savior.

Sabo scratched the back of his head, "Just keep up the good work, making furniture for the entire city must be hard work." Sabo looked at the hand that he had used in order to take the chest from the thief. _"What a powerful grip even after having the wind knocked out of him…I wonder how long he's gone without food."_ He thought to himself.

"Ah!" Rory shouted as he pointed at the thief, who had been slowly creeping away ever since he got his second wind. "The thief is up!" Fearful of capture he sprinted the moment Rory broke into a panicked sprint. "Ah, somebody catch that crook!"

"Just leave him be. It looks like he may have fallen on hard times. He doesn't really have anything so as long as you're more careful with your chest he shouldn't be able to steal from you again."

Rory nodded in agreement, "Of course Master Sabo."

"There it is again!" Sabo let out an annoyed cry, "Stop using 'Master' in front of my name!" To this the crowd began to laugh again and Sabo's smile returned. "Well I guess I'll be off then, I have someone to meet." Sabo left Rory and the crowd as they waved him off.

"See my boy, even nobles can have good hearts sometimes." Rory said as Sho got up to his feet.

"Yeah, if only there were more nobles like Master Sabo…" Sho said.

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><p>Sabo found himself in the slums of the city. While the section wasn't necessarily poor the stark contrast between these sections and where the nobles made their homes made the label stick. As Sabo traveled there were people who would occasionally stop and watch Sabo pass and he could hear his name being mentioned by others as he passed them.<p>

Sabo stopped when he came upon a man who was sleeping next to a pair of trashcans. Apparently recognizing the man Sabo approached him and slapped his face in order to wake him up.

The man sprung to life and jumped to his feet. "Who hit me?" He asked looking around. When his eyes fixed on Sabo terror crept over him.

Sabo raised his hand in greeting, "Yo Mr. Thief!" Sabo was smiling a great deal as he spoke.

"W-w-what do you want from me?" The thief stammered. The thief was eagerly looking for a way out but this was a confined area behind a number of buildings. The escape would be tough so the thief began to search for other options. As he searched his surroundings and his mind he realized that Sabo had only bested him in one crazy move. This train of thought led the thief to believe that his defeat was nothing but a fluke. Firm in this belief the thief drew his knife in order to defend himself. "Are you here to take me to in? Well I'm sorry to ruin your plans, but not going jail!"

To this Sabo laughed, "I see you still have your knife. Well you'll need it." Sabo tossed a small cloth bag to the thief. "Try not to steal anymore and keep trying to make a living." With that Sabo left the thief alone with the bag.

Unaware of what just happened the thief nervously approached the bag. He took caution as he opened it, but when it was finally opened the thief's eyes were filled with shock and awe. In the bag was a full course meal, neatly wrapped. With tears of gratitude in his eyes the thief used his knife, which had been used earlier that day for attempted assault, to eat his food.

As Sabo came back to the main road he felt someone put their hand on his shoulder. "It was a generous thing you did." The tone of voice made it so that the words didn't come off as a compliment or complaint, just a statement. Sabo knew only one person who would speak in such a matter of fact way. Sabo turned with a smile on his face. "It's good to see you…Sabo D. Thurston."

"Sensei!" Sabo said as he looked at the man who had virtually all of his features covered by a thick green hooded cloak. Sabo couldn't contain his smile when he saw his teacher's grin. "The Flying Fish?" Dragon nodded and the two went off.

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><p>The two entered the bar and looked around. It seemed to be one of the happiest places in the whole city. People were laughing and singing. In the far corner Sabo could make out what appeared to be an arm wrestling competition. Merry men drank their beers, relaxing after a long day of work. It was here that Sabo would always take his teacher for a drink whenever he came into town, which was had only been a few times since they first met 10 years ago.<p>

The owner of the bar turned to see the two as they stood in the doorway. "Ah, it's you two again? Don't just stand there, get a seat." He said with a smile as he waxed the counter. "You want me to fire up the grill?"

"It's all right Willy, just have Yuki come with some glasses of wine."Sabo said as he grabbed a seat at a table in the back. His teacher had pulled down his hood and followed. It wasn't long before the two were drinking the wine that Sabo had ordered. "So it's been like three years, right sensei?"Sabo gulped down the glass of wine and started pouring himself another one. "I wish you could visit more often," Sabo downed another glass. "But I know that would be asking too much, seeing as you're the "Most wanted man" Monkey D. Dragon." Sabo said as he filled his glass up for the third time.

"Oi…" Dragon said trying to get Sabo's attention. "Are you sure it's okay for you to be gulping down wine like that?" Dragon said as he took a sip of his own glass. Dragon didn't seem to be worried about having his identity made known in the bar. Whether it was because he had no fear of lower classed citizens telling the police or the fact that he could easily stop anyone from telling, Dragon was unfazed.

"Ah, sorry about that." Sabo said as he gulped down the third glass and exhaled.

_"You just did it again in the middle of your apology…"_

"It's just that when I get to meet you I get so excited." Sabo explained as he pushed the glass towards the center of the table, signaling he had had enough for the time being. "I mean with you I can't be completely honest, and then when you leave I have to go back to playing my role again. Without you there's only one other person I can be completely honest with." Sabo sighed, this time he seemed a bit disheartened.

Dragon put down his glass, "You seem to be playing 'your role' a little too well. You are a champion of the common people, while still maintaining your noble airs. This is making you and your family look good in front of the other nobles. You've spent the last 10 years using what little I could teach you and the other resources available to become a strong person. You've done well for yourself."

To this Sabo smiled and scratched the back of the head, "It's weird when you compliment me like this."Sabo recalled that Dragon gave him at least one reassuring compliment every time he visited. It was something that always comforted Sabo and kept him going.

"Hmm…" Dragon took another sip of his wine. "I always hoped that somewhere along the line I would be able to talk to my son in a similar fashion. Even if he was planning to be a pirate I still feel like we would have gotten along on some level. But after that event 10 years ago…" He stopped and a silence rose up between the two for a moment. Dragon looked at Sabo, really looked at the young man, and grinned. "I was right in giving you your full name.

"Hm…Sabo D. Thurston." Sabo sighed again. Every time his meetings with Dragon went like this. Despite the outward appearance it was a good emotional outlet for Sabo. Sabo could reminisce and talk freely with his teacher and that seemed to be all he needed.

Suddenly Dragon slapped his hand on the table to get Sabo's attention. "They call you a local hero. You stop robberies, rescue people from the great forest, and even pull people out of financial pinches." Dragon said with a grin on his face. Sabo scratched his head as his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Dragon's tone suddenly took a serious turn as he continued, "Also when I asked around about you they said you got married a year ago, and it wasn't to just anybody. People are saying you married into the royal family."

"Yeah," Sabo said calmly. As Dragon looked at the young man it seemed as if Sabo was thinking of his wife fondly. Dragon had never seen such a look in Sabo's eyes, never mind the fact the face Sabo was making was due to the a noble. While Dragon showed no outward expression of his surprise he was beside himself with disbelief.

"Why?" Dragon asked.

"Well I know nobles are rotten. I've seen constant reminders of it every day since I've lived in this rotten city." Deciding he was ready for more wine Sabo pulled his glass back towards him and started to fill it up. "One thing I realized was that there were two types of nobles in this city. The first were the rotten ones, people who feel that simply because of birth they are better than other people. They make up the vast majority of the nobility. The second type, they are the nobles who can remain blissfully ignorant of the real world around them because of their wealth. Most of these nobles will do anything possible to remain blissfully ignorant content to live in their false world." This time Sabo merely took a sip of the wine before setting it down.

"And your royal wife is of which category?"

"Since I classify nobles as I meet them she is of the second category of that there is no doubt. While this is true I know she has a genuinely good heart. While she may be a noble she is the only true noble among them. While I was getting to know the royal family, who couldn't get enough of me after I started making a name for myself. I met her and after getting to know her I couldn't help but fall in love with the one noble who showed a shred of humanity."

"Well that's interesting," Dragon began. "Let me tell you of something I remember. I'm thinking of two events in particular, one happened three years ago and the other six." Dragon polished off his glass of wine and began his first refill. "I'll start with the one six years ago."

"Six years ago the two of us sat here in this very bar. I had a glass of wine and you had some juice. Back then you were still haunted by it. You seemed to be consumed by hatred then. The only thing in your eyes seemed to be revenge, and I could understand that. When I spoke to you then you told me that you had made up your mind. You said that you would destroy the nobles as they are. You said you would do it by becoming the King of Nobles, or rather the King of Goa. When I asked how you would become King you told me that you would do so by becoming famous. 'The nobles are stupid people, so setting them up in situations so that I can save them will be easy.' You even told me that you had already started to put it into practice, kidnapping a noble's dog, then bringing it back saying that you found it. You were determined to study hard and raise your name bit by bit until the title of King was within reach. To tell you the truth I was satisfied with your goal, you could certainly bring about change by becoming King. At the same time your method of gaining renown was mild trickery at best. Overall it was a plan that would work if you kept at it and didn't falter. In the end I offered you some advice and taught you a few things then went on my way."

"Then three years ago the two of us returned to this bar once again. Like this time I had asked around about you, and I was surprised to learn how famous you had become in just three years. You weren't yet regarded as a 'local hero' or anything but the common people only had good things and the nobles said that you were of the useful sort. When I laid eyes on you I could see that a great deal of that hatred had subsided. You didn't look like that boy, scarred by an atrocity, I saw three years prior. Regardless of your look I congratulated you on making visible steps towards your goal. All you offered back was a sigh. You said that while becoming King would definitely allow you to change things it wasn't your true dream. You said your dream was to become a great pirate, the same dream as my son and your other brother. You said that becoming a great pirate would better honor their memory than just ruling the kingdom. You decided then that you would travel the seas for a time and learn a little bit more. While I was surprised that you could toss aside such a big goal like becoming King I didn't feel the need to stop you. I never had some grand intentions for you so even becoming a pirate was okay. Again I gave you some more advice and taught you some more things before I left."

Dragon had finished his second glass of wine while he was talking and with his story done he filled it up again. "You may not remember these two events as clearly, but here they were two contrasting goals, and now you are in this situation."

"I never realized how much I had changed in that time." Sabo said as he marveled over Dragon's excellent memory.

"My point is that, now that you have married into the royal family you have opened a door to your first goal. I feel it is my duty to tell you that you can't keep walking straight anymore. You have to choose a path to take…" Dragon let his words sink in. "Give up on your desire for revenge and live here in the kingdom with your wife, or sever all ties with this kingdom and start your life as a pirate."

Sabo was taken aback by Dragon's words. After a moment of silence Sabo slammed his hands on the table and broke the silence, "What do you mean 'give up my desire for revenge'? They can't just walk free after what they did! You're telling me this, of all people? Give me a break!"

Dragon went on to explain in a calm voice, "It's only logical. If you remain in the kingdom and exact revenge then you it will only be a matter of time before whatever you do is brought back in front of you. Whatever the outcome of that you will no doubt have damaged your wife, whom you love remember. Whether she is forced to watch as you rot in jail for your actions, or live alone as you disappear from her life after living together for so many years you will cause incredible damage to her. This is without even factoring in the children you are bound to have. If you love her then spare her from that and let the villains die of their own causes. On the other hand if you want to become a pirate you can't do so with ties like a noble family name and a wife. You'll have to cast those things away and set out in earnest."

Dragon's words made crazy-sense to Sabo as he settled back into his original sitting position. "Forsake my past or forsake my present." Dragon was taken aback when he heard Sabo say the words. While Dragon had danced around saying those exact words Sabo didn't budge and he fully understood what Dragon was saying. "You are right in saying that I can't have it all sensei, but I can't make my decision right away." Sabo's expression seemed to lose more and more of his happiness.

"You don't have to decide now." Dragon finished his glass and when he went to fill up his glass nothing came out of the bottle. "I'm sorry Sabo," Dragon said as he lifted his hood back up over his head.

"Why are you apologizing sensei?" Sabo looked up at his teacher's eyes. Sabo couldn't seem to find any answers in his teacher's eyes.

"I don't have any advice for you on this and by looking at you there is nothing else I can teach you." Dragon stood up and slid his char back under the table where the two were sitting. "I won't be coming back to see you again. If you become a pirate we may meet on the seas. If you stay here you may live long enough to see me return as a revolutionary. Either way you can no longer call yourself my pupil and I will no longer call myself your master. I am glad that I got to know you Sabo, you have taught me a great deal. This is goodbye." Dragon turned and walked out of the bar leaving Sabo to continue to ponder.

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><p>Sabo reached the front door to his family's house. Taking a deep breath he swallowed his troubles and regurgitated a smile. He rang the doorbell and after a couple seconds someone opened the door. Sabo took a moment to look at the person who answered the door. The man was a bit shorter than Sabo and a bit on the heavy side, no doubt due to his metabolism slowing down in his increasing age. Sabo raised his hand in greeting "Yo, dad."<p>

"Ah," he started. "Come in Sabo, we've been waiting for you." Sabo nodded and walked through the door. "Dear, Sabo's returned from his day out managing the businesses." Sabo's father made the call as he ran his hands through his hair which was beginning to gray.

Hurried footsteps could be heard as his mother came down the stairs with a big smile on her face. Sabo's mother seemed to be held together by makeup and other beauty products. It was obvious that she was going through the same troubles as her counterpart, but she seemed to be a little better at hiding it. She gave Sabo a kiss on both cheeks before speaking. "Welcome home Sabo," she said in earnest. "Rose has been waiting for you return for some time now. You'd best go see her, we've already had dinner but I can have the cook prepare something for you if you'd like."

"Now now," Sabo's father said cutting in. "You can eat in a little and Rose can see you then as well. For now come with me to the office. I need to know of the businesses." Sabo's father was right, in show the family's rapid rise to fame they had to make a number of risky business ventures and expensive personal purchases. It wasn't enough that Sabo was the talk of the town, the family also had to look like they were at the tip of the iceberg in terms of wealth. As such the Whitewood family didn't have too much money in reserve therefore a great deal rode on how the businesses did on a day to day basis.

Sabo's father closed the door behind Sabo when they were both inside. Sabo's father took his seat behind his desk and pulled out some ledgers in order to take down information. Finally he looked up at Sabo, "So, how were the businesses doing?"

"Before that I wanted to tell you that I managed to save Rory's furniture company from a thief. He was going to steal enough money to put a serious dent in their operations."

"Bah, you know the Poles family owns the majority of Rory's Furniture Company. You should have let them get robbed and then we could have sold our portion to the Poles before them finding out. You're always doing things like this Sabo." Mr. Whitewood's tone was a scolding one as he spoke to Sabo.

"_Cold-hearted as always father…you don't even care that Mr. Rory would have lost his livelihood."_ Sabo thought. Rather than say what was on his mind Sabo opted to say what his father wanted to hear, "But father, I thought it would be better to save them. If I save them, Mr. Rory will no doubt relay the day's events to the Poles family and then they will be indebted to our family for keeping their business venture alive. I did it for future leverage. You should be expecting some kind of thank you from their family sometime soon or else they'll lose face."

To this Sabo's father smiled, "Ah I see. Your decision wasn't wrong then." Sabo's father grinned a bit before he picked up his pen to begin writing. "So, tell me about the businesses."

Sabo nodded, "The businesses are all doing fine. Mr. Rory's company should be expecting a little more than usual…" Sabo went on to show his business acumen when he related how the companies were doing, how other companies were doing, and his opinions on how to deal with competing companies and where to shift finances.

After the marvelous display Sabo's father sat back in his chair with a wide smile on his face. "I'm glad you came back Sabo…" Sabo was a tad surprised by the remark. While Sabo's father did praise him sometimes it was a rare event, and most times it was merely praises for the 'fake Sabo'.

"Dad?" Sabo probed.

"I knew you were my son. You surpassed any expectations I had of you. When you were still a child you were so troublesome, running around with the filth outside the city." When Sabo heard this he put his head down and gritted his teeth. His father continued regardless, "Still when you finally settled in you easily caught up to Stelly in studies, despite all the time you missed. You quickly surpassed him and then you even started making a name for yourself. You can't imagine my surprise when I found out that you were dating a member of the royal family. Your mother and I thought we couldn't have been more proud of you, but we were wrong when you proceeded to marry that royal family member. You have made your parents very proud and it was all after you decided to leave that silly fantasy world and live in reality."

Sabo looked up with a smile and a tear in his eye, "I'm grateful that you think of me like that dad. I'm glad I left all of that behind as well if I could get to make you happy." Sabo's voice came out slightly off as he said the words. He sounded as if he was trying to hold something back as he spoke. _"I'm sorry, Ace…Luffy."_ Sabo said to himself and to any afterlife there may be.

"Yes you've made us both very proud. That's all for today, go on and see your wife. The new house is still in construction, but it should be completed soon." Sabo's father laughed a little.

"What is it dad?" Sabo probed for a second time.

"Well I was just thinking that since you are going to move into the new estate with Rose to mark the new "Royal" Whitewoods Stelly will have some use after all. Stelly can have this old estate and keep the Whitewoods that aren't royalty by blood around. After all, our name as a whole will be uplifted to a higher level of nobility regardless of whether royalty is in the blood." Sabo's father had a smile on his face as he pondered the future aloud.

"I see, well good night dad." Sabo gave a quick nod to his father before he left the office. "Rotten old man" he said under his breath after he shut the door to the office. Sabo proceeded to go not upstairs, but downstairs, to his personal study. He switched on the lights to the basement and proceeded into the open room where an ornate desk was positioned against the back wall.

One the desk sat a rather odd looking hat made of straw. For all intents and purposes the hat was functional, but upon closer inspection some of the straws that made up the hat seemed to be lightly singed. This made the hat lack uniformity in color as the colors ranged from golden yellow to black. Sabo touched the hat gently, "I had a tailor remake it using the pieces I found first then filling in the rest with new straw. I tried to keep as much of the original in it as possible…" Sabo lifted the hat to reveal a violet fruit with strange markings on it. "It's not fair that only one of you had things that I could preserve and remember you by. I only have my memories of Ace…" Sabo fell into the chair at his desk as he began to ponder. _"My past..."_ Tired from the long day Sabo seemed to drift further and further into sleep in that chair, as he did so many times before.

Some time passed and a woman descended the stairs. Her dark brown hair and blue eyes seemed to further accented the beauty in her other physical features. In her nightgown the woman approached Sabo with a pleasant smile on her face. "You fell asleep down here again dear?" She went to the corner of the room and grabbed the blanket that was sitting there. Bringing it with her she draped it over Sabo, who was snoring.

She gave Sabo a gentle kiss on the forehead, causing Sabo to speak up in his sleep. He said things like "Luffy, don't stretch yourself like that…its weird." Smiling the woman turned to head back upstairs. As she ascended the stairs she somehow tripped over herself, fell forward to hit her head, and proceeded to tumble back down the stairs making a loud crash in the process.

Shocked by the loud noise Sabo snapped out of his dream so violently that he fell over in the chair. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," the woman said as she favored her forehead.

Sabo looked up to see the woman, "Rose is that you?" The woman nodded. Sabo noticed that he was covered in a blanket and he smiled after understanding the whole picture. _"My present…"_ he said to himself with a faint smile.

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><p>Axelpro: So here is the what-if scenario Sabo that is now 20 years of age. I know there wasn't too much action, but I thought it would be better flesh out this character before sending him to battle. Any suggestions, complaints, queries, or general statements are welcome.<p> 


	3. The Hardest Choice! A Murderer Appears!

Edit: Just letting everyone know again, I tried using stars ' ***** ' as partitions for the first chapter, but it seems that the partitions didn't take. Instead I'll just use the lines from now on, I also gave the same treatment to Chapter 1. It should be easier to read, hope you enjoy.

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><p>There Sabo stood looking at his wife as she favored her forehead. He couldn't stop smiling. As he looked at her he could only remember the numerous moments they shared together. Sabo's smile slowly faded when he remembered his discussion with his teacher. He would have to make his decision, and when Dragon said soon he didn't mean months. <em>"The longer I wait the harder it will be for everyone…I understand the logic at least. If I break away now Rose can still recover emotionally, she may grow to hate me, but she could love again…and be happy. She deserves at least that much if I want to go and be selfish."<em>

"I'm so sorry dear, I must have woken you." Rose said, her sweet voice ringing through the air. "I only meant to find out where you were, since you never came up to your room. When I saw you sleeping I just thought to cover you up and go to…" By this time Sabo was already standing over Rose with an extended hand.

"I know Rose, I know." Rose took his hand and he helped his wife to her feet. "Come, let's go to bed." Rose nodded and the two went upstairs to Sabo's room. When they entered his room Sabo looked around for a bit. "I'm going to go the bathroom for a second. Go ahead and get into bed, I'll be right there." Sabo went into the personal bathroom that was recently installed when Rose had started sleeping at his house on a regular basis in order to be close with him. In this bathroom Sabo made a specific request, to have to mirrors on directly opposing walls so he could see his back whenever he looked in the mirror in front of him.

When Sabo removed his shirt it was clear why he made this request. Down the spine of his back were the letters "ASL" inked incredibly large. The peculiar thing about the tattoo was that both the A and the L were crossed out leaving only the S, which was positioned just at the center of his back. Sabo remembered getting the tattoo when he traveled the east blue for a few months with his closest friend. The more he thought about it the more he began to feel that it wasn't fair having to decide on some level. Sabo knew he was being selfish, but he wanted everything. Sabo finally let out a sigh and went to bed where his wife was already settled in.

He slipped into his bed and put his arms around Rose letting his head rest close to hers. _"It wouldn't be too bad…to spend my nights like this."_ Sabo thought to himself as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep. The last thought he remembered before going to sleep was that since being with Rose his nights have always been peaceful. There were no nightmares haunting him, no feelings of being helpless in the harsh place called reality. With Rose he only needed to lay his head down and go to sleep.

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><p>Sunlight hit Sabo's closed eyes hard enough to shake the young man out of his slumber. When Sabo opened his eyes Rose wasn't in bed with him. Sabo sat up and slowly inhaled. His nose picked up something, the smell alone was enough to make him smile. Sabo hoped out of bed and went to the sink and washed his face. Putting on his morning robe and slippers he headed out of his room and downstairs to the dining area.<p>

"You making breakfast Rose?" Sabo called.

"Yep," was the reply he received. Assuming as much Sabo sat down and opened the paper that was on the table. Immediately his eyes went to the date and he sighed, it was still yesterday's paper. Sabo assumed his father hadn't come back yet, since he always brought the current paper from his outings. Before Sabo put the paper away he read the headline, 'Thompson still set to embark on his journey around the world in one week'. _"That's right; I never got a chance to talk to Thompson about him actually going through with his dream to see all four oceans."_ Sabo thought to himself. Just as refolded the paper and placed it in the recycling bin the back door, which happened to be located at the back end of the dining room, swung open. Sabo's father strolled through the door with a big smile on his face. "Good morning dad."

"Ah Sabo, you're up about an hour earlier than usual." To this Sabo shrugged, a reaction that made his father chuckle a bit. Rose entered in at this point with a plate of food in either hand. "Good morning Rose, so you've made breakfast for Sabo. She set one down in front of Sabo then set a plate down in front of the chair where Sabo's father always sat.

"Good morning to you father," Rose said with a smile. "You seem to be in good spirits today. Is there any reason in particular?" Rose slipped back into the kitchen to grab her own plate so that she could join at the table.

"Well just like Sabo said that Bradford Poles decided to throw his support behind me as I run for the position of Chief advisor to King Tiber. With him and his supporters along with me and my supporters we safely have two thirds of the nobles behind me. It's guaranteed that I'll become the next advisor." Sabo's father could not stop smiling as he started to eat his food. _"Then as the position of chief advisor I will be able to give opinions to the King that will eventually place Rose much closer to the succession than normal. That way she'll have a greater chance of becoming Queen, and then the Whitewood name would become main royalty. Even the lesser branch, run by Stelly, will be forever linked to the royal family." _Mr. Whitewood thought to himself. As he continued to ponder something strange piqued his interest, but then he remembered the feeling. It was the taste of food; Sabo's father had completely forgotten that he was eating food. "This is a fine meal Rose."

"Thank you father," Rose said as she ate her own meal. As she ate Rose remembered something when she looked at the recycled newspaper. "Dear," she began. "My uncle wants to meet with you for dinner in the palace today. Can I tell him that you'll make it?"

"If it's for the King, of course I'll go." Sabo said the words without hesitation. It had become a semi-regular occurrence for Sabo to eat meals with the King. Every few weeks the King would make a request for Sabo, sometimes it would be just Sabo and others it the King would ask for other members of the family to come as well.

"Wonderful, I'll let my uncle know."

As they conversed at the table loud footsteps could be hear coming down the stairs. The owner of the footsteps turned the corner revealing himself as Stelly, Sabo's adoptive brother. Stelly raised his hand to greet everyone, "Yo."

"'Yo', he says…" Sabo did his best impersonation of Stelly that he could. "Can't you greet your elders better than that?"Ever since Sabo embraced his role as a noble, regardless of his sincerity behind the action, Stelly had been forced out of the spotlight. As it stood Stelly couldn't truly compete with a Sabo who was determined to excel. While Stelly was still intelligent and capable in all regards he was still overshadowed by Sabo. This made the boy a bit lazy and more nonchalant.

"Stelly, your food is in the kitchen. I didn't bring it out because I didn't know when you were going to wake up." Rose said as she pointed at the door to the kitchen.

Stelly nodded, "Thanks Sis, you're the best."Stelly slipped into the kitchen to grab his plate. Rose smiled at the compliment and then returned to the conversation being had at the table.

"So Sabo what do you think you'll do today?" Sabo's father asked as he finished his meal.

"Hm," Sabo thought for a bit until he remembered the newspaper. "I think I'm going to go talk to Thompson for a while before he has the chance to leave for good." Thompson could easily be considered Sabo's closest friend. While he wasn't a noble he was a reputable fisherman and sailor. Their love for the ocean created a strong bond between the two.

"Ah the fellow that you sailed around the East Blue with? Well I guess it's only natural that you'd want to see him off." Sabo's father stood and took his plate into the kitchen. "Well enjoy your day off; things will be getting busy again soon. After all the election for Chief Advisor is coming up so we will need to show our best." Sabo's father was replaced by Stelly at the table. Mr. Whitewood came out of the kitchen with a smile. "Stelly you'll have to do your best too."Stelly nodded and Sabo's father started to go upstairs.

"Dad," Sabo said. His father stopped before leaving. "Did you get today's newspaper?"

"Uh…oh that's right. Mr. Poles' office didn't have the newspaper today for some reason. I didn't worry about it too much though. If anything important happened it will be in tomorrow's paper as well."

"Is that so? Well that's too bad."With no more queries posed to him Sabo's father went back upstairs. "Well I guess I should be going too…" Sabo said as he put his cutlery down on the empty plate. He gave Rose a kiss on the forehead, "I'm heading out."

"Have a good day dear." Rose said in response. It was the sendoff Sabo had been getting ever since they had been married. It was nice, constant, but most of all it was reassuring. That simple sendoff always put a smile on Sabo's face. He had come to rely on it a little bit.

* * *

><p>For Sabo the day seemed to go incredibly smooth. There was no petty crimes, no nobles exerting their 'rights', Sabo couldn't even seem to find people struggling to survive that day. Chalking everything up to good fortune Sabo finally made his way to the docks where he found Thompson sitting in his ship while a teenage boy seemed to be prepping it for a fishing venture.<p>

"Yo, Thompson!" Sabo called raising his hand to get the fisherman's attention.

"Well if it isn't Mr. Whitewood."

Sabo cringed at the sound of the surname, "You know not to call me that. Besides I'm 17 years your junior, I should be the one calling you mister."

"You do and I'll punch you square in the face!" Thompson had a cheeky grin on his middle-aged face.

"You wanna go!" Sabo pushed his sleeves up revealing more of his forearm. He too had a grin on his face. Thompson got off his boat and the two met in the middle of the docks, their foreheads touching and electricity seemed to spark up as their eyes met.

Suddenly Thompson snorted as he tried to stifle a laugh. This forced Sabo's face to contort as he tried to hold in his laughter as well. Thompson finally let out a roaring laugh, "Kahkakakakakakah!" It was a laugh that was unique to Thompson and a laugh that Sabo had become well acquainted with. Sabo couldn't help but laugh alongside his longtime friend. "I was wondering when you'd come to see me Sabo."

"Sorry I didn't come sooner." Sabo said with a smile on his face. The two went to the edge of the dock where there were no boats around to disturb their chat.

"Ah don't apologize for it. The Sabo I know would only have planned to visit me once before I left, so the later you showed up the better."Sabo made a gesture as if he had been hit by an arrow. "See, I got you down to a science." Thompson let out a sigh as he leaned back and looked out at the sea.

A silence fell over the two as they watched the sea and all of its vastness. The two had spent most of their voyage like this, content to just stare and the blue sky above and blue ocean below both stretching as far as the eye could see, a marvelous sight.

Finally Thompson broke the silence, "It felt like the right time to leave."

Sabo nodded, "Are you going to take your ship like we did last time?

Thompson shook his head, "No my son will need to provide for the family. I've taught Thompson Jr. everything I know about fishing, plus he seems to have a natural talent for it. So I'm not worried that he'll be able to keep the business afloat.

"I see…" Sabo said softly as he continued to stare out. Another moment passed and Sabo turned to look at his friend. Thompson had the look of a grizzled seaman. He looked as if he belonged on the sea, as if it were his rightful place in the world. "Aren't you going to miss your wife and kids? I mean you are leaving them behind."

"Yeah," Thompson said. "I'm going to miss her a lot, but this is my dream were talking about. She knew this dream of mine when she married me. My children know this is my dream as well. They are content to wait for me to see this through, no matter how long it takes." Sabo smiled when he heard Thompson's words. One some level Sabo was proud just to know a man with such convictions. "When I saw the paper today it reminded me how vast this world is. I mean there are such important people in the world, and we can easily live our whole lives out here without even noticing that they exist."

Sabo nodded as he watched the ocean for a bit longer. Suddenly something clicked. _"Important people?"_ He thought to himself. "Thompson, do you have a copy of today's paper?"

"Yea it's on my ship."

"Can I see it?"

"Sure," Thompson turned his head to address his son. "Junior! Bring the paper over here!" Within seconds Thompson's son had hustled over to where the two were sitting and handed the paper to his father who then handed it to Sabo. Thompson Jr. went back to prepping the ship after delivering the paper. Sabo opened up the paper and his expression darkened instantly when he say the main article. "What's wrong?" Thompson probed.

Sabo gripped the paper and gritted he teeth. He seemed to be seething with rage as he looked at the article. _"Is that why he said there was no papers at the place he went! I was just having a casual chat with him…it was like I forgot about it completely. Like nothing had ever happened…no, I don't want that…I don't want to forget. My greatest fear…it's come true! I had forgotten all about it…I forgot what they went through…no, no, no…"_ Sabo's thoughts continued in a similar fashion as he gripped the paper tighter and tighter, his teeth clenched harder and harder.

Thompson was mesmerized by the Sabo in front of him, fearful of what might happen should he break Sabo's trance. Suddenly he heard a faint crack, "Oi Sabo! You're going to damage your teeth if you keep at it!" Thompson shook Sabo who dropped the paper into the ocean. From where Thompson he could only make out the headline to top article. '10 year anniversary of World Noble's visit to Goa' was what the title read. When put Sabo together with the title he suddenly realized what was going through Sabo's mind. "Oi, Sabo?"

_"Sensei, he came yesterday…he came three years ago at exactly the same date, then three years before that on the same date, and three years before that. He didn't even let me know that I had forgotten three years ago…what happened to me!"_ Finally Thompson's gentle nudging brought Sabo out of his panicked state of mind. "Sorry Thompson…"

Thompson smiled reassuringly as he placed his hand on Sabo's shoulder. "What are you talking about? I should be saying sorry. I wasn't being considerate of what happened to you in your past. I shouldn't have brought up painful memories."

To this Sabo shook his head, "No, I mean I'll be heading out to see before you." Sabo's expression had a coldness to it Thompson was unfamiliar with. In the five years that Thompson had known Sabo he had never seen an expression like that before. It was as if there was a grand hurricane raging behind Sabo's eyes.

"What?" Was all Thompson managed due to his shock at Sabo's comment. Finally he collected his thoughts, "What about the wife you just married? I may be leaving my wife but we've been married for a decade and a half. What you're doing isn't the same at all!" Thompson had gotten up from his seated position to shout at Sabo. It seemed as if his words were hitting a wall because Sabo's expression didn't change at all.

"It's better that I leave as soon as possible. The sooner I leave the sooner she will be able to get over me and remarry. I have no intention of returning here…" Sabo said with fiery resolve in his eyes. "Now I truly understand the choice that Dragon gave me, 'To break the mask I had put on or accept the mask as my true face resolving to never remove it again'."

"What?" Not fearing Sabo's current state as much anymore Thompson managed to sit back down. "You aren't making any sense Sabo."

"Thompson, do you remember what I said my greatest fear was?

To this Thompson nodded. "To lose yourself and become someone else."

"That's right, and it happened." Sabo said as he looked at his hands. For a whole minute he sat staring at his hands. "Regardless of whether it was for the greater good or not, I let myself change. I became someone else, almost all the way down to the core. Sensei realized that and he gave me an ultimatum. First he wanted me to realize what was happening to me." Sabo slammed his fists on the dock, "It's unforgivable, to be content with becoming a noble. I had forgotten that the air that I'm breathing here is stale."

"Sabo…"

Sabo finally looked up at Thompson. "Thompson, can I ask you to hold off on your departure and help me out with one last thing before we both leave this place?" Thompson was taken aback by the strange look on Sabo's face as tears formed in his eyes. What Sabo held in his eyes didn't seem to be rage, but extreme sadness. While the resolve was still apparent he knew that what he was to do would require him to break away from the one person he truly cared about and was sure cared about him.

"Of course Sabo, anything you need I'll do it. As a final favor to you…"

Sabo smiled and nodded his head forcing the tears to roll down his cheeks, "Thanks Thompson, you're the best."

* * *

><p>The afternoon had given way to the evening and the King looked out into the blackness of the night from the window in his palace dining room. King Tiber snapped his fingers and a servant appeared, "Any word on the whereabouts of Sabo? He's extremely late for dinner he agreed to come to."<p>

The servant bowed, "I'm very sorry my lord we have no idea as to the whereabouts of Mr. Whitewood." The King huffed and shooed the servant away.

"It's a lonely night tonight…" King Tiber mused to himself as he sat silently. The lights in the room were already dim because Tiber was annoyed by bright lights. It was a strange mood in the castle as it seemed eerily empty despite the fact that every 10 minutes or so a servant would pass through the dining room. Something was giving King Tiber a bad vibe because he started to look this way and that at the slightest sound or shadow.

A gentle breeze rolled through the dining hall and sent a shiver down the King's spine. As if someone had opened the main door to let someone in. This gave King Tiber heart as Sabo may have arrived. The King assumed a fine regal posture so as to look his best in front of Sabo, whom he was finding to be a good friend. Sabo was truly of the useful sort, and the King was happy that he was married to his niece.

The real reason the King had invited Sabo to dinner was to relay his decision to the boy. The King was getting on in years and a proper successor would be needed to be named. This is also why the King had held the chief advisor election as well. King Tiber planned to inform Sabo that he wanted the boy to rule over the kingdom with his niece as the queen. All his children were female and married to worthless men. If Sabo's father could obtain the position of chief advisor King Tiber assumed that Sabo's father would orchestrate schemes that would put his niece at the forefront of succession talks. In this respect King Tiber planned to let all the schemes and plots go through unchecked so that Sabo might find himself in charge of the Kingdom when he passed on.

The King thought all this over with a smile on his face when the lights dimmed further. Out of the corner of his eye he caught movement of some kind, and after shifting his head in the proper direction he could see the movement even clear. A figure clad in a black cloak was walking towards him.

Scared out of his wits King Tiber fell back in his chair. Scrambling to his feet he looked around and then back to the figure who continued to approach. "Wh-wh-who are you! State your name!" The king shouted, but to no avail. "State you name! I demand it as your king!" The declaration seemed to work as the figure stopped.

Suddenly the figure started to laugh. The voice that came out was incredibly low, far too low to be natural. "You…my king? Don't make me laugh…" With those words the figure continued his approach. "You are king of the nobles, and nobles are scum. This makes you the greatest scum; you perfectly embody everything that makes scum scum." The figure was now mere inches from the King, who was frozen with fear. In one violent thrust the figure palmed King Tiber's face and lifted the King a few feet off the ground.

"Why? I have done nothing wrong! What grudge do you bear against me!"

"Gray…Terminal…" Was all the reasoning offered to the desperate King. King Tiber's horrible final cry echoed throughout the palace.

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><p>Axelpro: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as always reviews are encouraged.<p> 


	4. 10 Years of quiet rage! Sabo departs!

Axelpro: As always please R&R

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><p>"Sabo Whitewood appeared at the palace to have dinner with the King. When the servants went to check as to the King's whereabouts they found him sprawled out over his dining table." Bradford Poles gripped the paper as he read aloud from his office chair. Bradford Poles was an odd looking man; the most peculiar thing about him was undoubtedly his mustache. The facial hair in question was incredibly long and thin; at least a foot on either side of his face, but the odd part was that the mustache seemed to naturally curl up back towards his face making multiple loops. It was as if two lollipops were positioned on either side of his nose.<p>

There was a clear state of shock on his face as he processed the fact that highest ranking noble had just been killed yesterday. It only took a moment but a sinister grin came over the noble as he sat in his chair. _"Ah, I'm in perfect position now. I'm married to the King's eldest child which puts me in the immediate running to become the next King. If I had waited that Whitewood would have undoubtedly twisted the King's mind into favoring his niece for succession. With this surprise death I'll be able to use my influence to secure my position as King." _Bradford put the paper down on his table and turned to look out of the window that was at his back. From his window he could clearly see the vast city out in front of him. The view and the way things were coming together Bradford couldn't help but let a sinister grin creep onto his face._ "I'll finally have it…all of this kingdom in my hands! I'll finally have what I've desired since birth…no, what is rightfully mine! It's my destiny after all…to become god on this earth!"_

"Mr. Poles?" Bradford looked up from the paper to see his secretary looking back at him. "Your 11:00 appointment is here. Mr. Rogers says that he has recently caught a cough so he hopes you won't mind him wearing a mask to keep you from catching his cold.

"_Tch, who the hell is this damned Rogers anyway? If it wasn't for him getting recommendations from a bunch of other nobles I wouldn't even give him the time of day. After all I have to start preparing to rule over this kingdom."_ Bradford's thoughts brought a smile to his face. "Ah, yes send him in. I'll hear his business proposal." The secretary nodded and closed the door behind her.

A moment or two passed and the door to Bradford's office opened again. This time a figure clad in a black cloak appeared. The only thing Bradford could make out was the surgical mask he was wearing, which was already explained by the secretary. _"Who's this scary character?"_ Was all Bradford could think. "Welcome Mr. Rogers, have a seat and you can start telling me about your plans right away."

"My plans…" Bradford was startled by the surprisingly deep tone in his voice. In a flash the figure's hand stretched out from its resting position and palmed Bradford's face. With pure strength the figure lifted Bradford up into the air.

"Wh-what's the meaning of this! Mr. Rogers!" Bradford desperately gripped his assailant's outstretched arm in an attempt to pry himself free. The effort went unnoticed by the black cloaked figure.

"Gray…Terminal…" Was all the reasoning offered to the desperate noble. In another spur of action Bradford was sent flying out of the window that was to his back. Bradford went flying from the window to the city streets below where he hit the pavement with a sickening impact.

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><p>Sabo's eyes opened after his peaceful sleep. He sat up in his bed and looked out of the window to see birds chirping on the windowsill. <em>"It must be nice to not have a cage you have to return to…you can always go as far as your wings will take you."<em> Sabo thought to himself as he got out of bed. He slipped on his morning robe and slippers and went to leave the door to his room. Before he exited he paused and took another glance at the birds that, seemingly on cue, fluttered away when he set his eyes on them again. _"I'll learn all about that kind of freedom soon enough."_

The smell of breakfast hit Sabo hard when he entered the dining room. Rose was already seated and staring at the newspaper with a worried expression. "Good morning Rose," Sabo said with a smile.

"Ah, good morning dear…" Her greeting seemed to lack the reassuring tone that it usually carried. Sabo could tell just by looking at her that Rose was preoccupied with the recent events in the kingdom. "Don't worry Rose, I'll be here." Were the words Sabo chose to reassure his troubled wife.

Rose looked up from the paper. She clearly saw the confidence emanating from her husband. "Sabo…" Sabo approached and put his hand on her shoulder and took the seat next to her. "It's been a week since these killings started, and the murderer only seems to be going after royal family members and members of upper nobility. He's already killed 21 people. In terms of royal lineage, I'm the only one left that isn't an infant. That means…that means…" Not wanting to hear Rose finish her though Sabo embraced her tightly. "B-but, father and mother haven't come back from their vacation yet. So it's just us, and you won't even hire guards. How can I not be scared?"

Sabo held Rose at arm's length and wiped a tear from her eye. "You sound like you don't have faith in my ability to protect you." Rose smiled and shook her head, "That's right Rose. Just place your faith in me and I'll protect you, for sure. The folks are supposed to come back in tomorrow so I'll tell you what, how about I just not check on the businesses today and stay here with you?"

Rose's face seemed to light up when she heard the proposal, but then she sighed. "I couldn't possibly be so selfish, father told you to watch over the businesses after all."

"Nonsense, dad will understand with the situation as it is. Besides I'll just work twice as hard when he gets back. Now that's the end of this discussion, go ahead and take your bath. When you finish we can start our day together."Rose smiled, satisfied with the result. She gave Sabo a peck on the lips before heading upstairs to take her bath.

Alone Sabo's face darkened. _"This will be the last time I'll be able to spend the day with you Rose…"_ Sabo went ahead and started to peck at the abundance of food that Rose made for herself. Sabo noted that Rose always made extra large portions when something was troubling her. _"I'm going to be leaving this place Rose, I'm sorry…"_ Sabo thought to himself as he read the paper.

* * *

><p>Morning had given way to afternoon, which then gave way to evening. Sabo and Rose had just made their way back to their home after a long day. The two had been having fun around High Town, looking at wares and playing games. With smiles on their faces Sabo and Rose entered the Whitewood estate. After receiving their greeting from the few servants that were still working the two sat down on a nearby couch. The room they were in was incredibly lavish, it spoke of how well off the Whitewoods were. The two had decided to leave the lights off, opting for the more relaxing candle-based lighting.<p>

Rose couldn't seem to keep her hands off of a golden necklace that was around her neck. She ran her fingers along the necklace until they reached the pendant, which was a small diamond heart. "You shouldn't have bought me this Sabo."

"What? I can't buy something pretty for my pretty wife?" Sabo responded with a smile. To this Rose's face flushed red. "I know we are tight on money but that pendant was from my personal savings, so don't worry about the effect on the family."

"Thank you again dear," Rose couldn't seem to let go of the necklace. As the two sat there enjoying the peace and quiet tears began to well up in Rose's eyes.

"What is it? You've been really emotional today…is it because of the killings?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that." Rose sniffed and dried her eyes. The tears replenished themselves as soon as her hands left her face. Rose continued to dry her eyes, but to no avail. "I can't explain it…" She started. "It feels like…it feels like even though you're sitting right next to me you are getting farther away. For some reason it feels like we won't be together like this for long." At this point she genuinely mere sniffs began to turn into blubbering. "This feeling, it hurts my heart. I don't like it…"

Sabo was in utter shock as he listened to the explanation, _"She really does know me too well."_ With this thought Sabo began to tear up as well. "Don't fret Rose…" Sabo pulled his wife close. "We'll be together…" He said putting as much reassurance behind his words as he could. "If we get separated I'll come back, no matter what…I'll come back…" Rose seemed to be able to accept this as she calmed down a bit and her blubbering returned to sniffling.

Suddenly at that moment there was a loud crash that came from the neighboring room. Startled Rose and Sabo wiped their tears, ending the mushy scene. With Sabo in front and Rose close behind the two went to inspect the source of the noise. "It's most likely some kid's toy that broke our window. I'll just talk to his parents tomorrow to have them pay for the damages." The room Sabo and Rose entered was the Whitewood trophy room. Here the numerous accomplishments of generations of Whitewoods were stored. Even Sabo's accomplishments occupied some space in the vast room.

Before them was a figure clad in a black cloak. From where Sabo and Rose stood nothing could be discerned about the figure, it was completely shrouded in darkness. Slowly it approached the two with sinister intent.

"Who the hell are you!" Sabo shouted at the intruder. The figure didn't offer a response other than its continued forward progress. "Answer me!" Sabo pushed his wife further behind him, signaling for her to run.

Rose was scared that this was the reasoning behind her troubled thoughts mere moments ago. Too afraid to lose Sabo she grabbed onto him tightly, "No Sabo! That's the murder, we have to run together! I won't let you stay and fight him!" The figure was within striking distance at this point.

Sabo tried desperately to pry himself free of his wife's grasp. "No! At the very least you have to get away! You are a precious member of the royal family, compared to that I'm nothing important!"His words didn't seem to get through to Rose as her grip didn't loosen in the least. Finally the figure lashed out, palming Sabo's face.

"No Sabo!" A look of sheer terror came over Rose as she feared the worst. In that instant the lights sprang to life and the figure took a step back. Despite the lights being on none of the figure's features could be ascertained.

"Young master!" The call came from one of the servants who lived on the property. Most likely realizing that there would be a witness to the crime the figure jumped back; then jumped out the same way he came in. Paralyzed with fear Rose's legs gave out and she crumpled to the ground.

Sabo knelt down and held her close, "Rose! Are you all right Rose!" Sabo kept trying to get some kind of reaction out of his wife, but she seemed to be swimming in her thoughts, or rather drowning would have been a better term to use. Finally Rose came to life; she pushed off Sabo and delivered a deafening slap. Taken aback Sabo was silent for a second before he turned back to Rose who had a face filled with rage even as tears ran down her cheeks, which seemed to happening a lot this evening. Sabo had never seen Rose make a face like this and in truth it scared him a little. "Wh-what was that for Rose?"

"'Compared to that I'm nothing important' you say? Idiot!" Rose said as she grabbed Sabo tightly by the shirt. She then pulled her head in so that she could cry into his chest, "Do you think I care about being a royal family member? If it meant you could continue living I would throw away my life as a noble. To me…to me you are my important treasure! Don't ever say anything like you aren't important ever again!"

Sabo had nothing to say to this woman, who was proving to be a better person than he ever was in his 20 years of living. Now more than ever Sabo didn't want to leave, he wanted nothing more than to stay with this person who loved him so much. The two embraced and Rose continued to cry for some time.

* * *

><p>It was about the same time but a day later. Sabo's parents had returned in the afternoon and everyone was gathered to have a family dinner. It was obviously an attempt to make everyone feel safe after the incident yesterday. The meal was the quietest Sabo had been a part of in some time. Nobody wanted to start a conversation because they feared they would somehow transition into a topic that nobody wanted to touch. So every single member of the family sat silently picking at their meal.<p>

The meal itself wasn't so bad and one by one the family finished. Stelly was the first. He immediately left the table to go to his room. Sabo's father finished next and waited for his eldest son to finish. After a couple minutes he got tired of waiting, "Sabo, after your finished come see me in my office." Sabo nodded, regardless of what happens Sabo knew that his father needed to keep the businesses afloat. This meant that Sabo's father was most likely going to try and catch up on lost time.

When Sabo finished he put away his plate and started to go towards his father's office. "Dear…" Rose muttered softly. Sabo stopped in order to listen to the words that were to come next. "Do you mind if I speak with you before you go to see father?" Sabo nodded and the two went down to Sabo's private study. The study was exactly the same, with the straw hat sitting on the ornate desk and the strange fruit undoubtedly under that.

The two sat down facing each other so Rose could speak plainly to Sabo. "I don't know how to say this…" Rose began. "Even though the killer ran away and we averted danger, this feeling that you're getting farther from me…it's not going away." As Rose spoke she placed her hand on his thigh. What amazed Sabo was that, unlike yesterday, there were no tears in Rose's eyes as she spoke. "I know I must be going crazy, but I just wanted to have you to myself for a moment."

Sabo reached in and placed his hand on his wife's cheek. "Is that all? Don't worry about a thing Rose." Rose couldn't help but smile, not so much at the words spoken rather in the way that they were delivered. _"This is it…the last time I'll see her smile."_ Sabo thought to himself. "I'll treasure it…" Sabo muttered under his breath.

"What was that dear?" Sabo shook his head with his a smile on his face. Not feeling the need to press further Rose motioned to Sabo that she had said what she wanted to say."

* * *

><p>Sabo entered his father's office and sat down in his usual seat. "Let's get down to business Sabo." Mr. Whitewood said once Sabo found his seat. "Tell me how the Rory furniture company did for the week."<p>

"Well they completed all of their orders and from what I hear everyone is extremely happy with them. They are going to continue to be a superpower. We might want to look at ways of edging the Poles family out of their shares of the company." Sabo's father nodded as he jotted down the information. "The glass makers we invested in are starting to make a name for themselves just as planned. It's like I said, as long as we use the products ourselves it will make them look better as well." Sabo then proceeded to deliver his detailed report on his findings over the past week. As usual his insights were remarkable and the Whitewood family wasn't in any danger.

When Sabo's father finished writing down the last bit of the notes in his ledgers he tucked his pen away. By now the rest of the family was undoubtedly in bed leaving just the two. Sabo stood as if to go to bed but his father raised his hand signaling for Sabo to wait a moment. Sabo slumped back down in his chair to listen to what his father said. "What I want to say to you is very important my son. With this string of killings I'm fearful for your life. I want you to be extra careful when you move around the city. As you can see you never can tell how low that trash out there will go. More importantly it is a good thing that your wife is still unharmed. Because of this she is the prime candidate to become the next queen, which will place you as her king. While her chances of winning the succession are strong there is still the possibility that one of the few remaining royal family members will win out. In order to ensure that the crown isn't given to some suckling infant you will need to be at the top of your game and show them that not only is Rose fit to rule, but you as well. Is that clear?" In response to his father's words Sabo did something he had never done before. He nonchalantly threw his legs up on his father's desk. "Sabo! What is the meaning of this?"

"Tch, what a shitty father…" Mr. Whitewood was taken aback. "People are dying left and right. My wife and I get targeted and barely manage to escape and all you have to talk about is taking the throne? What the hell is that!" Mr. Whitewood was speechless; he didn't even recognize the person speaking before him. "Your reaction…was just as I predicted."

The last remark threw Sabo's father into a greater state of confusion. "Wh-what are you talking about Sabo?"

"Gray…Terminal…" Was the explanation that Sabo delivered to his father. "I'm sure you remember what happened 10 years ago. After all you've kept that anniversary article from my eyes every year since then." At this point Sabo broke into a laugh that was foreign to him. "I have to give you credit…" Sabo continued. "You came so close to success, I almost lost to you. I almost lost my true self, becoming the person you wanted me to be." Sabo's laughter trailed off and all that was left was a sinister expression he hadn't revealed to anyone before. "You, Bradford Poles, and King Tiber were the main orchestrators behind the fire, which is how you knew to get me out of Gray Terminal so early. If you were an ordinary noble by the time you figured no amount of money in the world would have been able to assemble such a thorough search in such a short time." Sabo removed his feet from the desk and rose to his feet. Sabo's father couldn't do anything other than sweat in his seat. It was as if he was staring directly into the eyes of a demon.

"Y-you k-k-killed everyone? You're the murderer?" Sabo's father was finally able stammer out. To the accusation Sabo only smirked. Sabo's father knew it was the truth at that point. He didn't need anything else from Sabo to confirm it.

"While I did get rid of the others I only gave you the pleasure of knowing my identity." Sabo took a maniacal pose with his arms held out from his sides. Letting out a sinister laugh Sabo looked at his father, "Look at the son that you made after 10 years of effort. While there were many reasons I saved you for last there is one that is more important than the rest. At the end I wanted you to see what you did to me…what this shitty environment did to me…" Sabo finally took a deep breath and prepared to bring his confession to an end. "Most of all I wanted you to take all of it…my hatred!" With his purpose made clear Sabo's hand flashed forward, snatching his father's face in his hands. "Don't worry father, Stelly will take good care of the family name…if they don't convict me of these crimes. After you die all my ties to this place will be severed and I'll be free. Do you hear me you shitty old man? I'll be able to become a pirate, and there won't be a thing you can do!" Sabo's father couldn't even utter a response as his face was being smothered so effectively by Sabo's palm. Despite all of his squirming Mr. Whitewood couldn't even get a single breath of air from behind Sabo's palm.

"Ace…Luffy…you may not be able to forgive me now, but I promise that this will never happen again." Sabo's face had lost all of the madness that it held earlier, and instead he was smiling faintly. "It's finished, I've poured all my hatred into these dead nobles." As he spoke Sabo's father showed no signs of life in him. "As a final courtesy to this shitty man, I'll at least let his body feel the vastness of the sea…"

* * *

><p>Thompson was standing in front of a small boat, which was already prepped for departure. From the darkness of the night Sabo appeared carrying what could only be described as a body bag. "Your father in there?" Sabo nodded in response to Thompson's question. "Well deal with that before you get on the boat."<p>

Sabo knelt down and placed his father's body on the dock. One last time he opened the bag to look at his father's face, which seemed a great deal more peaceful than it ever did when there was life behind the eyes. "Dad…you always had it backwards. Parents are supposed to support their children, whatever their endeavors. They are supposed to find happiness knowing that their child is following their dreams…" As he spoke Sabo began to cry over his father for the first time. "You shitty father…" Sabo was finding himself at a loss for words.

"I know this is a touching moment Sabo, but you have to hurry. We don't know when someone will just happen by." Thompson made the suggestion as he undid the knots connecting the small boat to the dock. Thompson hopped into the boat and turned to Sabo. "You better make it here before the tide takes this ship away."

Sabo nodded to Thompson then turned back to his father. "I am grateful for two things that you did for me you shitty father. You led me to meet the one person with whom I could truly fall in love with, even if our time together was only temporary. Also you let me pour all my hatred into your body. You took all of it so that I can set out from this place no longer burdened by it…ten long years of quiet rage that is." One of Sabo's tears landed on his father's face before the body bag was zipped back up. "Just as I promised dad, look at how vast the ocean is." With that Sabo pushed his father's body into the ocean. Satisfied Sabo dried his eyes and jumped onto the boat with Thompson.

Thompson looked at Sabo, who once again had taken on a new expression. "'Ten years of quiet rage' huh?" Was all Thompson could say at that moment. The expression on Sabo's face was one that had a great deal of hope. "Hey Sabo, you look a little different. And don't say it's because of that straw hat."

Sabo smiled, "I think it's because of the hat."

"Idiot, I said that it wasn't because of the hat!" Thompson gave Sabo a solid knock against his head. "It's your hair, it's not curly anymore. Did you get your hair done or something?"

"Curly blonde hair belongs to Sabo Whitewood. This straight blonde hair…this hair belongs to Sabo D. Thurston!"Sabo's smile was vibrant, something that Thompson could understand. After all Sabo had just cast off his burdens, regardless of how he did it the burdens were gone and for the time being Sabo could truly enjoy being free for the first time in 10 years. The mask that he had been wearing was destroyed. "I had to burn the bridge that connected this Sabo D. Thurston to that kingdom."

Thompson smirked in understanding. "And the name of that bridge was Sabo Whitewood." Sabo nodded agreeing with the comment. "Well I was glad to be able to help you get away from those shitty nobles."

"You didn't just help me, but you made me realize just how much my wife loved me…" To this Sabo's excitement died away to an extent.

"I'm sorry Sabo; I didn't mean to make it harder for you to leave."

"No it's good that I learned that. She said that she would throw away her life as a noble to be with me. I'm glad I got to know a woman like that." Sabo smiled as he thought fondly of his wife. Finally coming back to the vastness of the ocean in front of him he couldn't help but laugh. "Where should we go first Thompson?"

Thompson shrugged his shoulder. "Speaking of traveling are you sure you're fit to travel across the sea? See I brought an entire suitcase. All you brought was that hat, the old blue coat of yours, and that devil fruit.

Sabo chuckled a bit. "Well, unlike you, I'm going to become a pirate." Then Sabo dug into his pockets and pulled out two stacks of bills and offered it to Thompson. "As agreed upon half of my remaining savings, take it."

Thompson took the money graciously as a thought occurred to him. "Say, won't the investigators notice that your personal account is empty and find that suspicious?" After all it would only be common sense to take out all of your money before a grand voyage.

"I'm not trying to hide the fact that I killed all those people, I only wore the cloak so that I wouldn't be discovered in the middle of things. Besides, these funds came from a certain tree just past the Gray Terminal. All the money I invested in the city is still there."

"_A tree? What the heck does that mean?"_ Thompson thought to himself with a puzzled expression. Eventually he shook off the thought and sat back, "Well it doesn't really matter. We should focus on deciding on where to go next."

"How about we go to that restaurant we went to a year ago? It has good food, and it's a perfect sendoff point for both our journeys." Thompson sat up and nodded his head, agreeing fervently. Saliva proceeded to dribble out of Thompson's mouth as he remembered how good the food was last time.

"Let's go there, to the Baratie!" Sabo shouted with happiness present in his voice. With that Thompson shifted the direction of the ship and the duo got farther and farther from Goa Kingdom or, as Sabo referred to it, Sabo's personal cage.


	5. Ambition Declared! I'll Be the new King!

Axelpro: As always please R&R

* * *

><p>It had only been a couple of days since Sabo and Thompson departed from the Goa Kingdom but the duo already had their destination in their sights. After giving the ship in front of them a cursory glance it could only be described as a giant fish. While the main body of the ship had no resemblance to a fish it was the strange head and fin-shaped rudder that gave onlookers the notion of a "fish". There were a number of ships tethered to the massive fish-ship and one in particular stood out to the two in their small ship.<p>

"Oi Sabo, looks like there are going to be marines at the restaurant." Thompson said as he pointed to the white flag with the iconical blue marine symbol. "Maybe we should turn around and find somewhere else."

Sabo chuckled a bit at the obvious signs of cold feet. "Nonsense, they have no idea about us. As long as we don't go aggravating them it won't be a problem." Their ship closed in on the giant fish ship. Realizing that they were going to go in regardless of the situation Thompson went to the edge of their ship, gathered the rope, and tied their ship to the 'giant fish'. "Let's go Thompson," Sabo said as he hopped up to the deck of the Baratie. Sabo turned and offered a hand to Thompson, who took it gratefully.

The two walked into the floating restaurant and were taken aback by the sheer elegance of the place. While it didn't have the richest setting it was a perfect mixture of high class restaurant and everyday restaurant. The result was that the restaurant gave a nice approachable feeling to it. As Sabo and Thompson looked around they saw all kinds of people enjoying their food. It brought a smile to Sabo's face to see so many happy people.

"Welcome mere basta-" Sabo and Thompson turned around to face the voice that had started to address them. "Oh, it's you guys!"Patty said with a smile on his face.

"Patty!" Sabo said, elated.

"It looks like you've been doing well Patty," Thompson added.

"It's been a while you two. This place has been running the same as ever since you two were here, although your cooking skills wouldn't be dismissed Sabo. Plus Thompson makes a fine waiter so we could use that as well, since we never got any new ones. "So what will it be you two? You want a table, or did you finally decide to come and work on the Baratie."

"No work for us Patty, we're here to have some fo-"Thompson was cut off by a loud crash. All eyes turned to the source of the noise, and their eyes settled in on a startling scene. Before the eyes of all a well dressed pink haired man was being hoisted into the air via his neck by another well dressed blonde haired man. There were the remains of a table and some food was spilling out onto the floor.

"S-S-Sanji!" Patty cried out running over to the scene. "What are you doing to this paying customer!"

"This bastard insulted my cooking skills…and what's worse is that he wasted a good meal!" Sanji tossed the pink haired man to the ground.

At this point Thompson nudged Sabo, "Isn't that Lt. Fullbody, a well known marine in the East Blue. And he's being beaten down by this Sanji character."

Fullbody's identity was news to Sabo. This was due to the fact that Sabo was completely absorbed in fulfilling his own goals and desires that he paid little attention to the world outside the Goa Kingdom. In reality his only experience with the outside world was when he traveled around the East Blue for a bit, but even then he and Thompson made only a few stops on the journey.

"I see," Sabo began. "But who is this Sanji character? From the looks of things he works here, but I didn't see him at all the last time we were here."

Thompson shrugged his shoulders. "I guess he must have been getting food supplies when we came here last, it seems like the only other option." Sabo agreed with the sentiment as the two continued to watch as the scene unfolded. At this point Patty was holding Sanji back as the latter wanted to continue punishing Fullbody. Realizing that this Sanji character was undoubtedly strong he started to create some distance between Sanji and himself.

"Don't try and stop me Patty! This piece of trash deserves everything he's going to get!" With rage in his face Sanji desperately tried to press past Patty, but the latter was holding his ground firmly. "I said mo-"

"Lieutenant!" Sanji's was cut off by another marine's booming call. "I-it's the prisoner we captured! He's esca-"Following the pattern of being cut off the marine's sentence stopped short. In the next second he fell over, unconscious. Behind him was a man with a fearsome look in his eyes.

"That's one of Don Krieg's men!" One of the patrons shouted. This information forced a wave of panic to roll over the ordinary patrons. Murmurs began to spring up as the common people became more and more fearful for their lives. "We're all done for!" Another patron finally cried out.

The fearsome looking man walked right past Sabo and Thompson. He continued past the other patrons paralyzed by fear and through all the remaining fearful glares. He reached an open table and sat down, kicking his feet up with authority in the process. "Food…whatever you got ready is fine." When he finally raised his head so all in attendance could get a good look it became obvious that this man was not in his best shape. He was covered in grim and had multiple scratches on his exposed skin. After a moment the man realized everyone was still marveling at him, "What's the matter! I said get me some food!"

At this point Sanji and Patty split up. Where Sanji headed Sabo knew was the kitchen, while Patty went to confront the customer. "Um…do you have any money to pay for your meal?"

In response to the question the man pointed a gun at Patty's face. "Will you take bullets as payment?" The man said with a confident smirk on his face. A collective gasp erupted from the fearful patrons.

With his left hand Patty slapped the gun away without hesitation and came from above with his right to club the man in his exposed gut. "Counteroffer!" The force behind the impact drove the man through the chair he was in. After lying on the floor for a second the man curled up favoring his stomach. At this point a loud growl came from the man's stomach. To this Patty grinned, "I see you're pretty hungry."

"J-just give me my damned food and I won't kill you."The man said from his hunched position, though it was clear he was on his last legs. At this point Sanji appeared Sanji reappeared and placed a plate of fried rice on the table along with a glass of water. First the man's eyes widened to see that food was actually brought out for him, but his expression quickly changed. When the man looked up he saw that Sanji maintained an aloof expression. Realizing that it wasn't fear that brought this plate of food in front of him the man cringed. "I can't accept this with you looking down on my like that! Take this charity out of here!"

"Don't be so tough, just eat it already. To me, any hungry person is a customer." At this Sanji lit a cigarette and took a drag. After a second he exhaled while looking out the window. "The vast ocean can be very cruel. It's awful not to have any food or water, just awful… I understand starving people more than anyone." Sanji then turned to look the man dead in the eyes. "I don't care if you wanna die with dignity. But if you eat up, you'd be able to look forward to a new tomorrow, won't you?"

The passionate words made water well up in the starving man's eyes. "But I can't pay…" It was his last line of personal defense for his dignity.

"Then get out!" Patty finally roared, tired of the worthless pirate's presence. We went to smash the pirate again but found his arms wouldn't move as he wanted them to. Finally he realized that Thompson was holding him back. At the same time he saw Sabo walk past him. "You guys…"

"If it's money you need," Sabo began. "I may not know about the true hardships of starvation, but I know it's a hardship that no one should have to endure." Sabo then placed a few bills on the man's table next to his rice. "This should do right?"

Sanji couldn't help but smirk at the kind gesture. "Yeah!"

With his last line of defense broken the teary eyed man lunged at the food and began stuffing his face. "It's so delicious," He said in between bites. When he had eaten too much at once he held his head high and beat the food down with his fist. "It's the best meal I've ever had!" The man shouted as he continued to eat in front of the awestruck audience. Every once in a while he would mutter again how good the food was as he scarffed it down. Even Patty let his anger go when he saw how hungry the man in front of him truly was.

Sanji's smirk turned into a full blown grin. "So I take it that you like it?" Sabo and Sanji both watched as the man finished every last bit of the meal in front of him.

When he finished the man rose from his seat, he had grabbed another one since his had broken. It was at this point the patrons regained their sense of fear as they looked at the man in front of them, clearly revitalized after his meal. Sabo and Sanji too observed the man in front of them to see what he would do next. Finally Sabo smirked when he caught a glimpse of the man's eyes. The man went down to his knees and touched his forehead to the ground in gratitude to both Sanji and Sabo.

"I-I th-thought I was a g-goner!" The man blubbered. The ground around his head was become wet with his tears of gratitude. "Thank you…" He said from his position. "Thank you…a million times thank you!"

"You'd better leave before someone decides to call the marines." Sanji said as he helped the man to his feet. "Patty get someone to clean this floor, I'm going to see this guy out."

At this point the man ripped his arm from Sanji's grip much to everyone's surprise. He turned to face Sabo with tears rolling down his face. "Like they said I'm one of Don Krieg's men, my name is Gin. And as long as I live I'll never forget the kindness done to me today!" His declaration was sharp, loud, and brought a smile to Sabo's face.

"Just smile more from now on!" Was all Sabo decided to say in return. Thompson nodded his head, approving of the sentiment.

"Oh and try not to get caught again." Sanji chimed in. To this Gin couldn't help but give a great smile before he and Sanji turned away to exit the restaurant.

"It looks like not all pirates are dishonest…" Was the single comment that Sabo picked out from the collective murmurs of relief that could be heard throughout the restaurant.

Patty put a hand on Sabo's shoulder, "I hope that wasn't the same money you were hoping to use for your food."

To this Sabo's expression suddenly changed as he began digging into his coat pockets and pants pockets with desperation. Finally he turned to Patty with a look of dread in his eyes. Finally he gave Patty a smile, "Just kidding!" To this Patty, Thompson, and Sabo all started to laugh. The laughter turned into a general celebration as the three let the mood carry them. From the second floor a man with a very peculiar blonde mustache looked on with a smile on his face. He was obviously satisfied with the results.

When Sanji returned inside his smile was replaced by a stern expression. "Sanji! Get back to work!"

"You could stand to do some work yourself you old fart!" Sanji called up seemingly ignoring the heated look the older man was giving him. Sanji walked right past the dancing trio, who were being encouraged via rhythmic clapping offered by the patrons, and went straight back into the kitchen.

The elderly man finally turned to the dancing trio, "All right enough of that Patty! Seat them or kick them out! You need to get back to work regardless."

"Aw, don't be like that Mr. Zeff! I thought you liked us?" Sabo called up the older man.

Zeff straightened his mustache as he gave a hearty laugh. "I hardly like my own chefs! What makes you think you're any better?" To this Sabo and Thompson both laughed.

"You heard the owner. I'll set you up at this table." Patty pulled another chair to the same table where Gin had eaten his food. "So what'll you have?"

After the two muddled it over for a bit Thompson clapped his hands as an idea sprung to mind. "Why don't we have whatever dish Patty is most confident in? That way we can see how much better he's gotten as a chef!" Sabo voiced his agreement and Patty nodded, retreating back to the kitchen to prepare the meal. "An eventful day wouldn't you say? 'Master Sabo?"

Sabo cringed as he heard the title, "You bastard!" Sabo made a wild swipe, to which Thompson avoided with a smile. "I'll get you for that one." It was a generally good atmosphere as the two continued on conversing and horsing around. Their display received mixed reactions from the other patrons. Some genuinely enjoyed how much fun the two were having while others simply wanted to eat their food.

Nevertheless their antics ceased when the two smelled food coming their way. Sanji was carrying two plates of food, freshly prepared. "Two appetizers, compliments of the future head chef." Sanji said with a grin. To this Sabo and Thompson welcomed the food and its carrier with a flood of applause. Sanji set the two plates down, "Enjoy."

"You're a real good guy you know?"

"Just know that this is the only free one you get from me." Sanji took a drag and exhaled before turning and heading back to the kitchen.

"Thanks for the food!" Sabo and Thompson said in unison right before they dug in.

"It's SOOOO good!" Sabo shouted after taking his first bite.

* * *

><p>"Here's your bill guys," Patty said as he placed the paper down on the table. Sabo and Thompson looked at the bill for a while without moving. "What's the matter, don't you have money?" Patty said as he seemed to get annoyed at the thought of them not having money.<p>

Thompson seemed to be getting emotional. "It's just that after this we'll be parting ways, and I don't know when I'll get to see that blonde head of his again." Sabo nodded, seemingly too emotional to speak. "I guess we'll just have to pay and get going…" Thompson reached to take the bill.

* * *

><p><em><span>Goa Kingdom, 10 years ago…<span>_

"_I have to get a ship! I can't spend another minute breathing in this stale air!" A young Sabo said as he sprinted through the crowds of people, who were in anticipation of something. "Ace, Luffy, I hope you guys are okay…but I can't wait to find out. Like you guys I want to be free, more than anything else." At that point Sabo saw his goal, a lone fishing ship sitting at the end of the dock. "This is the only chance I'm going to get to be free…" Sabo reminded himself in order to steel his resolve. _

_As he approached the boat he noticed a man sitting inside. Sabo observed that the man was undoubtedly in his mid 20's and he had a decent physical build, one that said he was a competent and experienced sailor. The man was busy tending to his lures and managing his bait. _

"_No matter what…" Sabo said to himself as he gripped the pipe that he had brought with him all this way. Sabo raised the pipe to give the man a swift blow to the back of the head. It would be enough so that Sabo could commandeer the fishing ship and finally get away from this place filled with nobles. _

"_What do you want, brat?" The man didn't even bother to turn around and acknowledge Sabo._

"_Shut up you shitty old man! I'm going to take your boat out to sea!" Sabo said as he drove the pipe down with all his might._

_The man turned and grabbed the pipe without too much effort. "Ah, you love the sea too? It has a certain allure doesn't it? Like no matter what you are before you set sail…once you do you are the same as everyone else. I don't get that feeling anywhere else but the sea." _

_Sabo hesitated after hearing the man's passionate words. "That's right, that's why I have to go out to sea as soon as possible!"_

_The man gave Sabo a long look dead in the eyes, it was enough to send shivers down the young Sabo's spine. "No," the man said sternly._

"_No? No isn't an option! I have to go out to sea!"_

"_Don't you know about the big ceremony that's happening?"_

"_Of course I do!" Sabo replied. "That's why this is the only chance I have to run away!"_

"_Stupid brat!" The man finally stood up and ripped the pipe from Sabo's hands. He then proceeded to snap the pipe in two with one swift motion. "Don't you dare go underestimating the sea!" Sabo was taken aback by the outburst. "You think some measly pipe will save you out in that vast ocean! All you'll be doing is going to die as you are. Go home, come back when you have a better body than that and I'll be the first person to take you out to sea." The declaration was like a physical punch to Sabo, enough to knock the boy from his feet._

_Finally the Town police rushed up to the docks, behind them were Sabo's mother and father. "We finally found you boy! Your parents were worried sick." The policeman grabbed Sabo roughly by the arm._

_Realizing that his one chance to flee had been taken away by the man standing in front of him his face contorted with rage. "You shitty old man!" Sabo roared._

_Sabo's father wiped his forehead from the sweat that had accumulated during his time getting to the docks. "If you could take him back to the estate along with my wife I would be most grateful." The guards nodded and they started to move, dragging Sabo along with them. "I'm sorry for the trouble he caused, if there's anything I can do to repay you…"_

"_You can bring that boy to me at least once a week." All listeners paused when they heard the request. The man repeated himself, "You heard me. Bring that boy back to this Thompson once a week." The man had pointed to his chest with his thumb. "If you do that I guarantee I'll knock some discipline into his head!"_

_Mr. Whitewood's face lit up when he heard the terms of the reward. "Well I can't argue with the man who kept my son out of danger. As you've requested he will see you at least once a week until you see fit to cancel the arrangement or you prove you are keeping to your word."_

_After hearing the agreement confirmed Sabo didn't know what to think. Nevertheless the guards dragged him away from the fisherman named Thompson. While he was the man who kept him from freedom he was a man whom Sabo felt would teach him about the sea. _

…_The Next Week_

_ Sabo nervously approached the dock. He could already see Thompson toiling away near his boat. Sabo could also see a young boy, younger than Sabo, helping his father with a smile on his face. Sabo came closer to the two and he became more and more wary._

_ "Don't just stand there brat, introduce yourself!"_

_ "My name is Sabo Whitewood!" Sabo said immediately._

_ "Good," Thompson put down the rope he was working with. "Junior, tend to the bait."_

_ "All right," the young boy said as he jumped onto the fishing ship._

_ Thompson stepped out of the ship and looked at Sabo. Sabo returned the look with his own eyes of resolve. Finally Sabo broke the silence as he bowed. "Thank you for stopping me last week. I see now that I wasn't ready to go out to sea. There was something that I needed to see above all else, and I have seen it. I'm ready for whatever lesson you are going to give!"_

_ "Lesson? Kahkakakakakakah!" Sabo was surprised by the laugh Thompson belted out. "You just seemed like a good kid, and you looked like there was some stuff you wanted to get off your chest. I'm all ears whenever you want to tell me. Otherwise you can just help with the maintenance of this ship of mine." Thompson said._

_ Sabo was awestruck by the man before him. "That sounds good…Thompson" To that Thompson could only smile. With that the trio continued to work on ship until nightfall._

* * *

><p>Sabo reached out and slammed his hand over Thompson's; keeping the latter's from moving. "Don't you dare pay that bill yet, Thompson…"<p>

"Sabo…" Tears welled up and the two embraced and bawled their eyes out. "I'm not ready to go yet!"

"Me neither!"Sabo said as he wailed alongside his close friend. "Patty! Bring out another order of whatever! Just keep the bill going!"

Patty did as asked and the two suddenly became immersed in the taste of the food when it came out to them. The two forgot their sorrows and focused solely on the food. Their smiles returned as the ravaged the plates. Once the plates were cleared thoughts of separation returned and with them the tears. Of course Patty returned with another dish for the two to eat and they repeated the process all the way through the night and into the next day.

* * *

><p>The next day had arrived and Sabo and Thompson had fallen asleep at their table. Not having the heart to kick the two out the chefs let them sleep and continued to feed them when they woke up. Slowly customers began filing into the Baratie giving the restaurant life once more. Patty continually brought food to Sabo's table and the duo were finding themselves getting a bit bloated from all the food they were eating.<p>

It was around noon when Patty showed up again with the next round of food. "This is the last time guys, you have to pay and go after this one." Patty said as he set the plates of food down. "Enjoy the meal guys. It's one of Sanji's special frie-"

Patty was cut off as the doors to the Baratie burst open. To Sabo's surprise it was Gin who came through the opened doors, though he wasn't alone. Gin had the arm of a larger man draped around his shoulders so that Gin could support the larger man as he walked. A look of dread befell the patrons of the restaurant as at least one person at every table recognized the man being dragged in.

"Hey look!" One of the patrons shouted as he pointed out the Baratie's window. As Sabo looked out the window what he saw could only be described as impressive. It was truly a rare sight as he saw four large ships all flying the same Jolly Roger. While a pirate crew with multiple ships, regardless of size, wasn't extremely rare it was the condition of the ships that sparked interest. Each ship appeared to be half alive, battle scars prevalent on all of them.

"Who cares about that" A female patron said as she didn't turn away from the half-dead looking man at the entrance to the restaurant. "That's Don Krieg! He's the strongest Pirate in the East Blue!" The comment by the patron sparked Sabo's interest, but ultimately he remained seated and continued to see how the events would unfold.

"Please Sanji! Can you give my Captain the same kindness you showed to me?" At this point the larger man, identified as Don Krieg, felt his knees buckle and the suddenly jolt of movement caused him to get free of Gin's support. Without the support Krieg easily fell straight to the ground. "C-Captain!" Gin immediately knelt down to make sure his Captain wasn't injured.

"Please…"Don Krieg's meek tone made Gin cringe. He didn't want to see his captain in such a weak state, but here they were begging for food. "Please…just some food and water." Krieg eked out.

To this plea Patty and a fellow waiter, whom Sabo and Thompson recognized as Carne, appeared. "Why would we give food to a guy renowned for his underhanded tactics? Wouldn't he just attack us after he's had his fill?" Carne shouted.

"I won't…do anything. I'll leave right away, so please." Krieg's please persisted much to Gin's distaste.

"You heard him! We'll leave as soon as someone gives him some food and water!"Gin cried out. And at that moment a bowl of food was set in front of Don Krieg. Surprised Gin looked up to see the face of the donor. "S-Sanji?"Just like yesterday Sanji stood with an aloof expression. The display of charity only brought up memories of yesterday's events.

Without needed any coercing Don Krieg started to stuff his face as the patrons all looked on in terror. Each one was fearful of what would happen once the fearsome pirate regained his strength. And at that moment a bowl of food was set in front of Don Krieg. Surprised Gin looked up to see the face of the donor. "S-Sanji?"Just like yesterday Sanji stood with an aloof expression. The display of charity only brought up memories of yesterday's events.

Without needed any coercing Don Krieg started to stuff his face as the patrons all looked on in terror. Each one was fearful of what would happen once the fearsome pirate regained his strength.

After his meal Krieg fell silent. When Sanji knelt down to retrieve the bowl the tricky pirate sprung to life. With a power lariat Don Krieg dealt a thundering blow to the well dressed cook. The attack took a mere second and suddenly the roles were reversed as Don Krieg looked down on Sanji, though his expression was completely different.

"Sanji!" Patty and Carne said in unison as they looked on. Their eyes then went up to observe the revitalized Don Krieg.

"I'm going to need food for 100 men…and I think I'll take this ship as well." Don Krieg said. When he spoke this time around he lost any trace of weakness that was in his voice before. "Listen up everyone! If you don't want to die I suggest you get off this ship right away."

"How dare you, Don Krieg!" Patty roared as he pulled a strange bazooka from seemingly nowhere. "Indigestion Meatball!" The blast rocketed into Don Krieg and the resulting explosion was incredible. "How's that, Don Krieg?" The smoke suddenly cleared as if being waved away by someone's hand. Once the smoke was gone it revealed an unharmed Don Krieg, who was apparently wearing a set of gold armor. The sight struck terror into Patty, Carne, and the remaining patrons.

"Now do you understand that you stand no chance against the King of the East Blue!" Don Krieg said with a smug grin. "So cough up the food and clear out of here or else you'll be-!"

"Hold on one minute!" The declaration roared throughout the restaurant. Don Krieg looked around for the source and saw that one blonde haired man was getting out of his seat. Sabo pushed in his seat and approached Don Krieg, stopping a couple feet away from the pirate.

Gin looked as Sabo approached Krieg. "Sabo…"

"What is it you runt?" Don Krieg said looking down at Sabo trying to intimidate him. Unfazed Sabo stared right back at Krieg with resolve in his eyes. "That face of yours is starting to annoy me so spit it out or get out of my way already."

"You'll be a good start…" Sabo said under his breath.

"What was that runt?"

Sabo swallowed any remaining nervousness down his throat. "For the longest time just being a pirate was enough, it was my dream. It was only until I heard your name that I realized something. I don't fight just for myself anymore; I carry the dreams of my brothers with me. They both wanted to be great pirates. To honor them I can't just be some pirate…I have to be a great pirate." Sabo stated.

"What do you mean Sabo?" Gin asked puzzled. His sentiments were shared by all other people in the room other than Thompson, who 'had Sabo down to a tee'. Thompson knew what was coming and sat back and waited.

"I mean when you think of all the great pirates, there was always one who stood above the rest. If my brothers wanted to be great pirates then the only way is for me to surpass all the great pirates in existence so by comparison they can only say my brothers would have been great pirates too."

"You don't mean…" Don Krieg had become a little amused by Sabo's speech, he seemed ready to laugh.

"That's right; I'm going to become the next Pirate King! By doing so I'll obtain heights greater than Roger himself! And you'll be a good start towards that goal Don Krieg!"Sabo's eyes didn't waver for a second as he made the declaration in front of everyone. As Thompson expected it was a jaw dropping declaration that had everyone in the restaurant stunned.

"Hey runt! If you had said that any other way I would have laughed in your face. But the way you said it just pisses me off! It's like you don't even realize that everything belongs to me already, so how can you make any claims towards it?"

"I don't want to hear anything from a coward who doesn't even understand common gratitude!"

To this Don Krieg laughed, "What pirate needs gratitude! You don't understand anything runt! To give you a scale of my power I'll let you have the first free shot before I crush you and your silly dreams!" Krieg puffed out his chest to show that he was serious.

"I'll take your offer Krieg, but no complaints later." Sabo said with a grin. Sabo stepped forward until he was mere inches away from Krieg.

"Don't do it Sabo! If you hit him then he won't stop until you're crushed! He's the King of the East Blue! The strongest pirate in this entire ocean! Don't you understand that!" Gin's pleas fell on deaf ears as Sabo was looking inwards before his strike.

_"Calm down…even though you've never fought against any opponent other than Grandpa it should be fine. I've spent eight long years fighting with Grandpa…so just clench your fists." _Sabo thought as he clenched his fists. _"Yeah like that, now move forward with all your might!"_ Sabo launched his right at Krieg's golden armor. The punch bounced off after making a weak sound.

"How's that runt! You can't eve-" Krieg's face suddenly contorted as his head lurched after pain surged through his abdomen.

For Gin, who was watching up close, it was an astonishing sight. _"He used his right to gauge the distance then he went full force with the left…" _Gin said to himself.

"This is for Sanji!" Sabo roared as he came down with a powerful Chopping Right to Krieg's exposed head. The blow sent Krieg flying to the left, right through the Baratie's wall and out into ocean. With the fight over Sabo cracked his knuckles and turned to face the remaining threat. "Gin…"

Nothing short of sheer terror came over Gin as he looked at Sabo. For some reason Sabo seemed a great deal bigger than yesterday, and it wasn't because Sabo's stomach was still a bit round from all the food. "Sabo…" Gin prepared himself to follow his Captain. He proceeded to clench his teeth and shut his eyes. Rather than a powerful blow Gin felt a gentle reassuring hand come to rest on his shoulder. Gin opened his eyes to see Sabo staring back at him.

"Forget someone as ungrateful as Don Krieg and become my comrade!" Sabo said the words with a smile, as if nothing he had just done actually transpired.

"Kahkakakakakakah!" Thompson was slapping the table while laughing as he couldn't contain his laughter. "Yeah, do it just like that Sabo!"

Gin had taken the request so hard that it knocked him off his feet. Gin was terribly indebted to Don Krieg but, unlike Sabo, Krieg had never shown him an ounce of kindness. It was a hard life as Gin knew that at any turn Krieg could have tossed him aside for failure. Still Gin was wholly indebted to the man before him and in terms of power the superior was clear. "I'm yours to command Captain…" It was Gin's final decision.

"Come on, there's no need to be all scary like that. Smile!" Sabo said as he was grinning big. Gin couldn't help but start to laugh, despite all that just transpired. "That's the way Gin! We're comrades now!"

At that moment Zeff appeared and set a bag down, "Here's food for 100 starving men. Patty, Carne, get this on their boats." Zeff turned to Sanji who was still on the ground, "And how long are you gunna sleep their Sanji!" Zeff gave a fierce peg leg kick to Sanji forcing the latter to roll around.

"Ow! What was that for you old fart!" Sanji said favoring his cheek.

"Go fish out that stupid pirate and throw him on his ship."

* * *

><p>After everything was settled Thompson and Sabo were ready to go their separate ways. Thompson was using the same ship that the duo had come in on while Gin and Sabo commandeered Krieg's smallest ship. The issue of the bill was settled, Sabo and Thompson ended up paying everything they had to the establishment and it still didn't cover the entire bill, not to mention the new man-shaped entrance. Regardless Zeff decided to let the two off the hook. As a final request to Gin the Krieg pirates were made to depart from the Baratie unharmed, save one unconscious captain.<p>

Thompson pulled away the rope that had secured his ship to the Baratie before giving Sabo one final look. "Hey Sabo, where do you think you are you going to go from here?"

To that Sabo smiled, "If I'm going to be the next Pirate King I have to pay my respects to my predecessor." Gin undid the rope that connected them to the Baratie and unfurled their sail. "It looks like I'm leaving ahead of you. We'll meet again Thompson!" Sabo waved after giving his farewell to his closest friend.

Thompson waved back, "Yeah, later!"

"So it's Loguetown Captain?"Sabo smiled when he heard the title. While Sabo wasn't a man for titles this was one that he felt he could get used to. "It seems things are going to be interesting in my life from now on."

"Yeah and you got plenty of life left in those bones of yours."

"'Life left'?" Gin said with a puzzled look on his face. "How old do you think I am?"

"Eh?" Sabo paused, seemingly caught in a bad situation. He turned away from Gin and started to count on his fingers for moment or so. While he was doing that he would occasionally look back, stealing glances at Gin.

_"Oi, oi, oi, how old does this idiot think I actually am?"_ Gin thought.

Finally Sabo turned back around with a smug expression on his face. It was as if Sabo knew he couldn't get the answer wrong, not after all the work he did. "Forty two!" He said, a smile brimming with confidence on his face.

As if on reflex Gin gave Sabo a hard knock on the head, "Idiot! I'm only 28!" Suddenly Gin remembered the beating that Don Krieg received after angering Sabo. At that moment Sabo started to raise his head; Gin swallowed hard in fearful anticipation.

"What was that for?" Sabo said as he favored the new lump that appeared on his head. "You sure as hell "look" like your 42."

Gin clenched his teeth, _"You smug bastard…"_ Gin noticed that Sabo was grinning cheekily. "I'm gunna get you!" Gin proceeded to chase Sabo around the small ship as Sabo continually taunted him. All the while their ship continued on course for Loguetown, the town of the beginning and the end.

* * *

><p>Axelpro: Hope everyone realized that I decided to turn the owner of the fishing boat that Sabo takes out to sea into Thompson the character.<p> 


	6. Adventure in Loguetown! Star Man Debuts!

**Axelpro: **Sorry for the wait on the next chapter, enjoy.**  
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><p>"Looks like we're here," Sabo hopped off the small boat and onto the solid ground. The journey was a couple days, but Sabo and Gin had found ways to pass the time. Gin was busy tying off the boat so it wouldn't get away, the ship they had taken as victory spoils was too small to have its own anchor. Sabo looked up at the blue sky and saw a pack of gulls fly by, the sight made Sabo smile. "Loguetown," Sabo began while trying to imagine what kind of crazy place Gold Roger's hometown could be like.<p>

Sabo's train of thought was broken when his first mate placed his hand squarely on Sabo's shoulder. "No time to space out Captain. The town's right in front of us. Let's stop imagining and head in." Sabo was surprised at how easily he was read by Gin, though he didn't give it too much thought before nodding his head. "Speaking of which that blue coat you're wearing doesn't fit you."

Sabo checked the length of the coat, as Gin said the coat sleeves stopped at Sabo's forearms. To this he could only laugh, "I guess I'll need a new one." Sabo took off the jacket and held it up in front of him. Looking at the jacket Sabo was able to go back to a time that was long ago, if only for a moment. It was enough to make the young captain smile.

"Captain?" Gin asked checking to see if Sabo was still a part of this world. Coming out of his daydream Sabo's smile grew a bit. "Eh?" Suddenly a figure burst through the coat which was at arm's length from Sabo. This figure smashed into Sabo sending both the figure and Sabo onto their behinds. Gin laughed at Sabo's misfortune, "Serves you right for thinking I'm old."

Sabo favored his rump as he got up. Once on his feet he set his eyes on the figure that knocked him down. What he saw was a rather fleshy being, not too much muscle, rather pale skin as if he hadn't been out in the sun much, and pink hair that came down to his shoulders. Sabo couldn't help that the look wasn't fitting for the boy in front of him. "You all right?"

The boy apparently didn't hear the question as he scrambled around picking up this and that. Each item he picked up he placed back into a large brown paper bag that had apparently dropped as a result of the collision. "The captain will be so angry!" Was what the boy said as he continued to pick up the items that were all over the scene.

"Gin, get that apple next to your feet." Sabo said as he pointed. Gin checked around his feet as instructed and saw the apple in question. With one motion he scooped up the apple and tossed it to Sabo. Sabo caught the apple and placed it in the boy's bag. This action made the boy acknowledge Sabo's presence as he stopped frantically picking up items and looked up at Sabo.

Sabo smiled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to knock you over."

The boy began fervently shaking his head, seemingly rejecting the apology. "It was me," he began. "It was me who ran into you. I should be the one apologizing."

"Have it your way. You can make it up to me by showing me the way to the tailor." Sabo said as he placed a banana back into the bag. The boy nodded and finished picking up after himself. With the large bag securely in his arms once more the boy nodded with his head, signaling for Sabo and Gin to follow him.

"I believe I passed a tailor on my way to meeting you." The boy said as the trio walked down the street. The part of Loguetown that the trio found themselves in was undoubtedly the market. Fishes of all shapes and sizes were being sold by men confident enough to shout their wares across the marketplace. It was apparently a special day as all the salesmen were bragging about their best catch of the year. "I'm not absolutely certain about the location though. I just docked here yesterday so I'm not a local or anything."

Sabo turned to Gin, "Since we might be wandering about feel free to get yourself something to eat."

"Eh, with what money Captain?" Gin extended his hands expecting some kind allowance.

Sabo gave Gin a firm pat on the back, "You'll figure something out. After all you're my first mate."

"Tch, I didn't know I was getting on board with a stingy captain." Gin said as he kicked a small pebble down the street.

"Aw, don't be like first mate." Sabo said with a smile.

"Hmph, don't think you can just keep talking your way out of things by calling me first mate." Gin said as he started off in his own direction.

"Later first mate!" Sabo said giving Gin a farewell wave, which was lazily returned. "Right," Sabo said readjusting his focus. "You said you just docked, does that mean you have a ship?" The pink-haired boy shook his head fervently once more. "You have a captain then?" The boy nodded as the two started to walk again. "What is he like?"

"I'd rather not talk about my captain; after all I'm nothing but a slave to her." The boy said as he hefted the paper bag back into a secure position.

"Her? So you're under the command of a woman huh?" Sabo said curiously wondering about this female captain. He suddenly bumped into the boy, who had curiously stopped walking. "Hey, why'd you stop?" Sabo queried.

The boy pointed at the store he was standing in front of. "This is the place." Sabo nodded, agreeing with the boy. "Well I have to be going," As the boy tried to leave he found that he couldn't. "Huh?" The boy looked around and found that Sabo was in fact holding onto his collar. "Oi! I'm not some dog!"

In response to the boy's shouting Sabo held up two fingers. "First," he began after taking one of his fingers down. "Thank you for helping me here, my name is Sabo by the way." To this the boy relaxed and realized that Sabo merely wanted to show his gratitude properly.

"My name is Coby." Coby gave a quick dip of his shoulders.

"Second," Sabo put his second finger away. "I still want you to show me two more places."

"That's impossible! I have to get back to my captain; she'll be angry as it is." Coby said as he shook his head.

"Perfect, that's one of the places I wanted to go!" Sabo said with a bright smile.

"What?"

"Just come with me for now, I need to order this jacket." Sabo proceeds to drag a confused Coby into the tailor.

* * *

><p>The marine base in Loguetown was functioning like a well oiled machine. Troops were practicing in the courtyard while a number of others were cleaning the nearby hallways. Elsewhere troops patrolled the grounds, ever vigilant as the marines were trained to be. In the head office of the marine base there were a handful of characters assembled.<p>

The most notable person was seated with his legs kicked up on the nearby desk. His white hair seemed to go well with his white jacket and the smoke that was emanating from the two cigars that were securely in his mouth.

"I'm not here to argue with you Captain Smoker. The world government has given me the authority to mobilize the full capacity of Loguetown's Marine base." The person speaking was clad in black, namely a black suit. This man, rather young, had his blue hair slicked back in a very streamlined way, a pair of shades resting on his forehead, and a small silver hoop earring in his left ear. His navy blue undershirt seemed to fit well with his general attire as he stood addressing the seated man.

"How dangerous can this Whitewood be that you need all of my marines to capture him? Just do it yourself. What do you say Mr. CP?" Captain Smoker said as he exhaled smoke which rose and filled the room.

The man angrily cleared the smoky room with a fan that he randomly obtained. With the room now clear the slick man pulled out a small document and placed it on the table. "This is the authorization I have. And with it I have complete control over all marine operations in Loguetown." The man then turned his head to look at the third person in the room.

The black-haired woman gave a meek impression as she sat in the corner. She only bothered moving when it came to readjusting her glasses. It seemed that she was just content being in the room.

"Petty Officer Tashigi!" The man in black shouted. The sharp rise in volume startled the black haired woman as she clumsily scrambled to her feet from her sitting position. "Go and round up three quarters of the marines stationed at this base and wait at the front of the base for further instruction." Tashigi nodded and went for the door. Just before she could leave Smoker slammed his hand on his desk, the sound made Tashigi stop and turn to her superior office. The man in black's attention moved from Tashigi back to Smoker as well.

"Don't just go using my subordinates!" Smoker said as he rose to his feet. "I'll get the troops ready, Tashigi you stay behind and maintain the base." With Smoker's tone as serious as it was Tashigi knew better than to talk back to him. She nodded and left the room leaving the two big players alone. "Looks like you'll be getting your way Mr.-"

The man in black cut Smoker off. "It's not 'my' way… it's the World Government's way. And don't call me 'Mr.' anything. My name is Kale of Cipher Pol." He said with a smirk.

"_This kid isn't even past the age of 20 and yet he's barkin' orders like he's been in charge for a decade. This Whitewood character is worth seeing though. He hasn't given me any details and we're only to detain him, but there is so much emphasis that Cipher Pol would make an appearance. Looks like things in Loguetown won't stay quiet for too long."_ Smoker thought to himself as he exited his office before Kale.

* * *

><p>Sabo and Coby were walking down the seedier parts of Loguetown as they made their way back to where Coby's captain was. "That jacket of yours is going to look really cool when they finish making it." Coby said as they started down a flight of stairs. Sabo nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with Coby. "Why do you need such a fancy coat anyways?"<p>

"Well I have to look the part of a Pirate Captain don't I?" To this Coby froze mid-step, almost falling down the stairs if not for Sabo's intervention. Sabo pulled Coby back into a reasonable position by his collar. "Is it that surprising that a guy like me is a pirate?"

Coby nodded his head. _"Of course it is! All the pirates I've met so far are all nasty. There's no way such a nice person could really be a pirate. He's nothing like my captain." _As Coby thought this he approached the pub in question. "The Gold Roger bar" Coby said reading the sign off aloud. "My captain said she would be waiting in here."

Sabo put his head on Coby's head as he grinned, "Looks like you've led me to another good place Coby. I'll go inside first, pretend like you don't know me. I want to see your captain in her natural state." Coby nodded and Sabo entered the bar.

Inside the bar was exceptionally dank as it had a general muggy smell to it. Near the bar itself there was a group of ten or so pirates all together having a drink to themselves. Sabo got his drink and sat down at the opposing side of the bar. To make himself more comfortable Sabo took the purple devil fruit from his pocket and placed it on the table. Coby entered in the next moment with his paper bag. The pirates at the far end of the bar seemed to recognize Coby as their faces lit up a bit when he walked into the room.

"Coby! What the hell took you so long?" Hearing this from one of the other crew member Coby hurried over to where they were and offered them the bag. "You better not have forgotten anything," He said as he snatched an apple from the bag. The other pirates proceeded to knock Coby away and dig into the bag, helping themselves to the content.

"How rude you all are, we are in front of strangers!" A woman's voice rang out amongst the group of pirates.

"Sorry Captain Alvida, but we haven't eaten in a while." The man who spoke continued to eat for about another five seconds before he found himself plastered against the back wall. The show of strength made the remaining pirates back off in fear of what their captain would do next.

In backing off Sabo could finally get a good look at Captain Alvida. She was gorgeous sight to behold. She had silky smooth fair skin and long black hair. Alvida was wearing a white hat and the rest of her clothing was covered by a cloak that had heart imprints all over it.

Sabo smirked as he picked up Coby and set him on the stool next him. Coby smiled in gratitude as they both let the events surrounding Captain Alvida unfold. After a bit of a tongue lashing the group resumes their meal again. Sabo continues to observe Alvida as Coby takes notice of the devil fruit and begins to look at it, not knowing what it was.

"What is this fruit Sabo?" Coby said as he touched it.

"It's a devil fruit, that one in particular is special to me." Sabo was only half paying attention to Coby and his queries, his eyes were more focused on Alvida and how she was handling her crew. Sabo was so focused that he didn't even notice a man walk into the bar and order a drink right next to him.

"So friend, what brings you to this bar?" The man asked Sabo.

Sabo didn't even bother turning his head to answer, "I came to see just what the Gold Roger bar was like." This of course was a blatant lie, but since this was often the case with any of the bar's customers the man accepted the answer readily.

"So you were probably interested in the bar that took the name of the infamous Pirate King. It seems fitting, for one as treacherous as yourself. Wouldn't you say so 'Mr. Whitewood'?" The man asked in a seemingly nonchalant, yet piercing, manner. When the man said the name a look of utter horror crept up into his expression. Fortunately Sabo's head was turned towards Alvida so the man couldn't see this shock.

"I'm sorry, my name is Thurston." Sabo said turning back to face the man with a calm expression. _"Who the hell is this man?"_ Sabo thought as he looked at the man in black with slicked back blue hair. While his mind was racing and uncertain his face was a perfect display of calm. "I don't know who you are looking for so please leave me alone."

To Sabo's casual response Kale slammed his hand down on the counter. "Cut the crap!" The outburst got even the attention of Alvida's group, as they stopped talking amongst themselves to see the event play out.

"Geh-geh"

Kale calmed himself before speaking again. "Regardless, you can't deny that you are Sabo Whitewood. I don't mean you any harm. As a respected noble I merely want to ask you some questions."

"Geh-geh"

"Like I said, I don't know who this Whitewood person is. Although I do think it's strange that we both share the first name. I can understand the confusion, but please go and look for someone else since I am not him."

"Geh-geh"

"Well even then, we'd like to question your relation to Mr. Whitewood. Even if it is small and unnoticeable, any help you have could go a long ways to helping us find him." Kale countered.

"You idiots! Can't you see a person choking right next to you!" Alvida said as she pointed at Coby, who was indeed choking with a grim expression on his face. Coby had been staring at the devil fruit very closely for some time, tracing the patters on the fruit with his eyes. When Kale slammed his hand on the table the impact was hard enough to send the devil fruit straight into Coby's mouth. Panicked Sabo got up and grabbed Coby by the feet. He proceeded to shake the choking Coby upside down at a vigorous pace. It was more of a throttling than a shaking. "That's not how to save his life! What are you doing!"

"Save his life?" Sabo said looking up at Alvida. "He swallowed my precious fruit!" Sabo said as he continued to throttle Coby. "Don't you dare swallow it! Don't even bite it!" Sabo shouted as he shook the boy. Alvida ran out from her position and gave Coby a solid smack on his back.

The impact forced Coby to swallow the fruit whole. "Good lord that is the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted!" In order to offset the taste Coby began fervently licking everything he could get his tongue on. It was such a strange sight that Sabo dropped the boy all together and Coby proceeded to caterpillar around licking random things, the ground included.

"Enough of this crap!" Kale said getting up from his feet and smashing his glass on the ground. "Marines!" With a snap of his fingers countless marines filed in from the front entrance. "Now come quietly Mr. Whitewood, or I will have to use force." Kale had a smug grin on his face as he made the quest. "You pirates don't move either; I'll take you in as well and check all of your bounties." Alvida and the rest of the people in the bar didn't move. The only one who was still moving was Sabo. "Mr. Whitewoo-"

"I'm not Mr. Whitewood!" Sabo roared as his presence surged outwards. Kale was utterly surprised as all of the marines fell to the ground unconscious. All of Alvida's pirates went limb as well. The only people to remain standing in the bar were Kale, Alvida, Coby, and Sabo himself. Realizing the situation Sabo grabbed Coby and bolted for the back exit.

"W-Wait!" Alvida said as she chased after them, leaving her men behind.

"Tch, I have to get more men to find them." Kale said, leaving the piles of marines.

* * *

><p>Only an hour had passed since Sabo had escaped with Coby and the marines were already searching Loguetown in full force. Sabo lead Coby through the back alleyways of the town without any clear destination in mind. Alvida, who had followed after the two after the incident, continued to keep up. Coby watched as the marines barged into people shops and ransacked them until they were content.<p>

As Coby watched this he winced, "Marines aren't supposed to be like this." He said in a hushed voice. "Marines are supposed to enforce justice and peace. To be so rough with innocent people…" Coby said as he watched a marine push aside a man who was reluctant to let them into his store.

"Marines are nothing but a tool Coby." Sabo said as he looked at the events unfold beside the boy. "They don't follow their own justice, but the justice of people who don't even bother to take a good look at the world anymore. How can people who don't even bother with details know anything about justice? The World government is only concerned about the big picture and to them the ends always justify the means."

"You don't understand Sabo," Coby began in response. "My dream is to become an Admiral, so I can bring justice to those who disturb the peace." Coby said as he watched more of the marines' search.

"What? You never told me that Coby!" Alvida shouted. One of the marines turned his head in their direction, seemingly hearing Alvida's outburst. Unfortunately the marine didn't see anything as Sabo had already covered Alvida's mouth and dipped further down the alleyways. Alvida slipped out of Sabo's grip with exceptional ease after they made it away from their previous location. "Who said you could grab me like that?" Alvida asked. Her voice was hushed this time around.

"Sorry, it was just reflex." Sabo said as he looked at his hands curiously. Sabo had made no attempt to release Alvida yet she had escaped without even requiring force.

"I see you're wondering how I got out of your grasp?" Alvida said as she looked at Sabo, who was still looking at his hands. Sabo gave her a nod, "I ate the Slip-Slip fruit, and now I am a super smooth woman." Alvida declared with a smirk.

"Heh, it looks like you're the type of captain who is going to keep getting into trouble." The voice didn't come from any of the three present. Sabo recognized the voice and smirked while the other two frantically looked about for the source. The voice came with footsteps that continued to come closer to the trio. Finally from the direction that the trio had come from a man appeared.

"Yo," Sabo said raising a hand to greet Gin, who approached the trio with a smirk of his own. Gin replied by raising his own hand. "So what's the situation Gin?"

"They are standing by all pirate ships at the dock, but since we haven't officially become pirates, our boat is still unguarded."

"Relatively?" Sabo asked, wanting more details.

"Yeah, they still have a couple marines patrolling the entire dock." Gin said as he took a look at the other two people with Sabo. "So you've come across Iron Mace Alvida?"

"Yeah," Sabo began before picking Coby up by his collar. "More importantly this guy is gunna be a part of our crew." Sabo's calm declaration surprised both Alvida and Coby.

"What? That's impossible! Nothing short of impossible!" Coby said fervently shaking his head. "I didn't even like being a pirate with Alvida and my dream is to join the marines! With all that just how do you think can I be a part of your crew!"

"Simple, you ate the devil fruit of my brother. I can't just let you walk away now can I?" As Sabo said this he shook Coby, this revealed that Coby had become a great deal more elastic in nature as he stretched this way and that. "See? You've become a rubber-man." Sabo put Coby down before continuing, "You saw those marines. Eventually you are going to have follow orders that you don't want to because there will be no other option. If you become a pirate then you can have your own justice and the only thing you'll need to see it through is…" Sabo clenched both of his hands and looked at Coby with a fiery expression. "The power within your own body!"

Coby was taken aback by this alternative solution. "That would be impossible because I don't have any power." The unwilling Coby was still looking for ways out of the current situation.

"Like I said before, you ate the soul of my precious brother. My brother wasn't weak and I'll show you how to make use of it as well as become stronger overall. The Pirate King's crew can't be lacking in power after all." Sabo said with a cheerful smile.

_"Can I do this? Become someone strong enough to enforce my own sense of justice?"_ Coby thought to himself as he looked at his own newly obtained body. Finally Coby looked up to Sabo's eyes, "All right! I'll join your crew and become stronger!"

"The hell you will!" Alvida had finally had enough with the whole situation. "You won't be taking my dear Coby anywhere. He is part of the Alvida Pirates until I say he can leave!"

"Hey did you hear shouting over here?" Again Alvida's outburst drew the attention of marines who started towards their location.

"Jeez, you're such a loud-mouthed woman." Gin said as he started down the alleyway so as to get away from the marines. Sabo and Coby followed after him and Alvida came after them. "Look are we going to leave this island or not?"

"Not yet," Sabo began whilst jogging. "I still want to see 'that' place."

"Do you mean the execution platform Sa- I mean captain?" Sabo nodded confirming Coby's explanation. "Well we should be coming out there once we get out of these alleyways, probably."

"What's all this captain business Coby? I'm your captain!" Alvida said, clearly agitated.

To this Sabo laughed a bit, "Don't worry. I was going to make you a part of my crew too."

This bit startled both Coby and Alvida enough that they almost tripped over themselves due to the fact that they were running. "W-What?" Alvida asked as she regained her composure. "Of course I refuse." Alvida said firmly.

"Why do you want her to join? She's obviously the kind of person that I want to stop." Coby added as well.

"Is she really Coby?" Sabo asked. "From what I've seen she seems to know that you are unique. So much so that she abandoned the rest of her crew to follow you and make sure you were safe. She could have easily split off on her own by now, but here she is running alongside all of us." To this Coby saw some truth and looked over at Alvida to see what was going through her mind.

"All my other crewmates are unconscious and I can't just let you kidnap one of my crew. It's insulting to me." Regardless of how Alvida worded herself Coby realized that to some extent she did care about him. This was a startling realization for Coby and at that moment he stopped seeing Alvida as a woman of pure evil. "Regardless I still refuse!"

"Well then I refuse." Sabo said with a smile.

"Huh?" Alvida was obviously confused. "How can you refuse?"

"I'm refusing your refusal." Sabo said casually. Alvida and Coby stumbled once more, Alvida managed to regain her composure but Coby hit the ground. Coby's fall was a cue for the group to stop running.

"Give it up Alvida. It looks like he is determined about this." Gin chimed in.

"Now that I get a good look at you I recognize that face of yours." Alvida said as she caught her breath. "You're Gin the Man-Demon. What happened to Don Krieg?" Gin merely pointed to Sabo to answer Alvida's question. "What? You're trying to tell me that he beat Don Krieg?" To this Alvida started to laugh a bit. Then Gin nodded his head confirming Alvida's half-serious question. Both Coby's and Alvida's eyes widened at this new turn of events.

"Don't worry about that stuff now, let's just get going." Sabo said taking off for the execution platform once more. He was quickly followed by the others in the small party.

* * *

><p>Sabo lead the group out of the alleyways and into a giant open area. It was undoubtedly the center of town as the first thing Sabo took note of was the giant execution platform. <em>"That's where the last Pirate King met his fate…"<em> Sabo thought to himself.

"Impressive, isn't it newbie?" Gin asked Coby. Coby nodded in agreement with the sentiment.

Something got on Alvida's nerves as she seemed to get ticked off. "Hey, stop talking like he's already a part of your crew!" She said to Gin. Gin merely shrugged his shoulders, an action which annoyed Alvida further. "Don't think you can do whatever you want just cause you are some old man!"

"Oi oi oi!" Gin obviously didn't like being referred to as an elderly person, as he was only 28. "You can't just go around calling people old! It's disrespectful!"

"Hmph, that's exactly how an old person would respond." Alvida said looking away, deciding to deprive Gin the satisfaction of eye to eye contact. Alvida's words seemed to pierce Gin like an arrow.

"You arrogant woman!"

"Hmph," Was all Gin could get out of her.

"Sabo! Where are you going?" Coby said. When the bickering duo looked to see what Coby was talking about they say Sabo far out in front. To be precise he was standing just in front of the execution platform.

Sabo merely turned back to Coby with a smile and pointed upwards. "I want to see what Roger saw just before he died." With that Sabo crouched down in order to accumulate energy. Then in one swift motion he propelled himself all the way to the top of the execution platform with nothing more than his leg muscles.

"What!" Coby said. His eyes were so wide that it looked as if his eyeballs could have fallen out of his sockets at any moment. He and Alvida both seemed shocked beyond belief when faced with the superhuman feat. Sabo proceeded to look out at Loguetown from his great vantage point.

One of the lower ranked marines, whose only job was to watch over the center of the town, saw the entire feat. "Hey! What are you doing up there!"He said remembering his duties.

"What!" Sabo shouted back down.

"You can't be up there! You are disgracing a historical landmark!"

"Don't be stingy. I just want to see what it's like up here." Sabo said with a smile. He proceeded to dismiss any further complaints from the marine.

_"So this is what Roger saw just before the end? It really is a great view. High enough that you don't have to see each individual person, it must have been great. He only saw the people who were hanging on his very presence." _The wind picked up, rolling through Sabo's straight blonde hair. _"From here Roger didn't have to bother with all the evils in each person's heart. His fame and his situation made it so that no matter what he said the people would take it in fully. 'One Piece', he created a whole new age of freedom." _Sabo's thoughts continued to roll on and on as people started to become aware of his presence on the tower. They started to whisper whether this young man was insane, climbing up there for no reason. "Roger!" Sabo shouted. "I won't put this age that you gave us to waste!"

"Well said Mr. Pirate!" Before Sabo could even register the voice Kale was already looking at him on eye level. Kale came down with a sweeping kick despite the fact that due to distance between him and Sabo he would never connect. As it turned out Kale's intention was never to connect with Sabo directly. Instead a blue tinted blade of air surged forth for Sabo. "Rankyaku!"

Sabo managed to see what was coming in time to leap out of the way. The blade of air cut into the scaffolding with destructive force. Unable to support the unstable state it was in the scaffolding began to collapse all around the descending Sabo. At the end the scaffolding came down and a giant cloud of dust rose up.

"Captain!" Gin said with worry in both his voice and eyes. Gin started out but realized that he and the others with him were surrounded by marines. Realizing things wouldn't be settled with a fight Gin grabbed a pair of unique tonfa that were attached to his waist. The tonfa were black and at the long end without the handle it was weighted as it turned into balled mass of metal, each the size of a cannonball. "Look alive! It doesn't look like we're getting out of this without fighting." Gin said as he began to twirl the weighted tonfa.

"Fighting! That's impossible. I don't know how to fight!" Coby said as he looked around.

"Hmph, I see you're still associating me with you. Well for now it looks like I don't have a choice but to work with you." Alvida said as she gripped her giant spiked iron mace.

One of the marines had their gun pointed at the trio and immediately recognized two of the three. "L-look, it's the 'Man-Demon' Gin and 'Iron Mace' Alvida! Two big name pirates are working together!"

"We'll have to be careful when taking them in! Alvida has eaten a devil fruit!" Another marine chimed in.

Back at the destroyed scaffolding Kale strutted up to the rubble with a confidant smirk on his face. He lifted his shades before speaking, "Like I said Mr. Whitewood, I just want to take you in for some basic questioning. If you won't come quietly I'll have to use force. Cipher Pol 3, in charge of the East Blue, is very curious about the current situation in the Goa Kingdom."

Sabo emerged from the rubble, seemingly unharmed beyond his tattered clothes. "I told you before; I don't know who this Whitewood character is."

"Sticking by that story huh?" Kale said as he looked at the man in front of him. "Well then I'll just need you to come in anyways. These questions are so general that I bet even you could answer them." Kale made another sweeping kick with his leg, and once again a surging blade of air was rushing towards Sabo. This time Sabo leapt clear over the horizontal blade of air and out of the rubble of the destroyed scaffolding. Sabo barely had enough time to get to his feet before Kale was on him throwing punches and kicks. "I'm considered the ace of CP 3. That means I'm a level above you. So don't go getting any ideas like winning." Kale said as he continued to press his attack.

Sabo was barely avoiding and blocking the attacks as he was disoriented. "My grandpa is much stronger than you, and since he trained me I have to be stronger than you."

"Oh yeah? It sure as hell doesn't look like you're strong at all!" Kale said as he brought his leg down again. This time Sabo made a cross block to defend against the attack. Kale smirked, "I can still fire from this position." When Kale said this Sabo could feel the air around him twist and contort. "Rankyaku!" Sabo was sent flying backwards into the rubble. "Looks like your grandpa couldn't have been that str-" Before Kale could finish the thought Sabo burst forward from the rubble at top speed.

Kale couldn't get a full grasp of Sabo's speed since the blonde haired pirate was coming straight for him. Sabo cocked his fist back and launched a full out punch. Kale was able to get his hand up in time to take the impact, but he was still sent careening backwards. The impact was so intense that Kale immediately lost any fighting form and merely sailed backwards. Fortunately for Kale his reflexes kicked in and he adjusted himself midair and forced himself to a screeching halt. _"The hell kind of punch was that!"_ Kale thought as he looked at Sabo in a new light.

Gin and Alvida were busy fighting off the marines that had surrounded them. Bother were having no real trouble with any individual marine, rather it was the number of them which was trouble. Gin knocked another marine out, which made it seven knockouts so far, before turning to look at Alvida. He turned in time to see her take down her seventh as well, "Looks like you aren't having any trouble." Alvida didn't bother responding to Gin as she knocked out another marine. "Tch, have it your way."

"God damn pirates!" One of the marines shouted as he took Alvida in his sights. His hand shook on the trigger as he watched Alvida beat down marine after marine. "If I could just…" The marine continued to watch, seemingly waiting for a clear shot. _"I can't shoot her! She's just too beautiful!" _The marine screamed inwardly. To compensate for his inability to shoot Alvida he turned his gun to Coby, who had literally done nothing this entire time. "Die!" The marine pulled the trigger and released the bullet that shot straight for the pink haired boy.

Coby turned in time to catch the bullet right in the heart, a sight that Alvida managed to see as well as Gin. "Coby!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. Coby felt the bullet pushing towards his heart. It kept pushing and Coby seemed to be taken off his feet by the force of the impact. All the while Coby was waiting for the pain to set in with his eyes closed, but all he felt was the bullet continually pushing towards his heart. When Coby finally looked to see what was going on he was amazed to see that his body was being stretched by the bullet.

_"Is this what Sabo meant by rubber-man?"_ Coby thought as he finally felt a different sensation. The bullet was propelled back at the marine who had fired at Coby taking him out. "Bullets can't kill me…" Coby said as he began to find a whole new appreciation for his body.

"If bullets can't kill you," The marine who said this drew his sword. "How about this!" Sword raised the marine charged for a startled Coby.

The marine's charge was cut short by a fearsome swing of a large mace. "Know your place marine!" Alvida said as she covered for Coby. Again Coby realized that Alvida wasn't as straightforward as he had originally thought.

"Looks like your crew can handle themselves pretty well." Kale said with a smirk. Aside from the one blow Kale blocked there was no damage on him. Sabo on the other hand looked as if he had been on the bad end of the fight despite having just landed a blow not more than a moment ago. _"His attacks are way too direct. No matter what kind of power he's packing it won't matter when he goes up against a fighting prodigy like me."_ Kale thought to himself as he rushed in. Kale sent another slicing blade of air towards Sabo. Sabo dodged to the side, but Kale had predicted Sabo's movements and was two steps ahead of him. _"He even falls for the most basic of feints!" _Before Sabo could react a hard fist caught him square in the cheek. The impact sent Sabo straight downwards, smacking into the pavement. Kale then proceeded to launch another slicing blade of air that launched Sabo back into the rubble of the destroyed execution platform. "If this is the most you can do then I'll just take you in. Maybe I'll even take in Mrs. Rose Whitewood as well. I'm sure she'd have some answers to my questions."

At the sound of his wife's name Sabo burst out of the rubble. "Oh it looks like you still have a bit left in you. No matter I'll take you in very soon." Kale said with the utmost confidence.

"It looks like I'm going to have to use my devil fruit power after all."Sabo said as he dusted himself off.

"Don't try to bluff your way out of your situation. I already know that whatever powers you have must go towards that massive physical capability you have. You can't fool me, and without any combat experience you have no chance against me." Kale said attempting to call Sabo's bluff.

"No you see," Sabo began as he started to concentrate. "You are only part right." Sabo ripped off his already torn shirt to reveal his well toned physique. "I have been using my devil fruit powers, but what you've seen is only about ten percent. I can't access the other 90 without activating 'Star Aura'." Sabo explained.

"Star Aura?" A curious Kale asked.

Sabo took a deep breath and then a surge of energy exploded from within his body. Red energy surged outwards in all directions. When Sabo's power up finished it seemed as if he was surrounded by a red aura. "This is star aura," Sabo began again. "You see, I ate the Star-Star Fruit. So you must realize that I am a Star Man. This means that I am capable of producing the explosive reactions that occur in stars. When I activate Star Aura I pump the necessary components for these reactions through my blood so I can use my power at full force."

_"He's not lying, that aura is actually residual energy that is escaping his body through the pores in his skin. This guy's is like a bomb right now!" _Kale thought to himself as he looked on.

"Nova Dash!" Sabo shouted as he vanished from Kale's sight without sharp cracks being heard. Sabo appeared behind Kale without even being detected. Of course it only took a moment for Kale to realize what was going on, due to the extreme heat that Sabo was emanating. "I use the explosive energy to accelerate each time I touch the ground. With this I can change direction anytime I want merely by creating a reaction to propel me in another direction." Kale jumped back trying to put some distance between them but Sabo burst forward. Having seen the movement before Kale could keep up with the speed this time around, at least with his eyes. "Then of course there is," Sabo cocked his fist back in the same manner as before. "Nova Punch!" Sabo launched his attack and Kale was able to throw up a haphazard block so as to not take the full impact. There was a thunderous impact as heat and light both shot out in all directions. Kale was devastated by the attack as it propelled him further into the sky.

Sabo's party and the marines that were still standing stopped their fight to see the sheer force behind Sabo's attack. The marines were so frightened by the power they opted to fall back in order to get their Captain to handle Sabo. Sabo waited for the Kale in the air, he continually stomped on the ground with his Nova Dash to allow himself to stay in the air. Realizing that Kale wasn't coming down conscious Sabo turned his aura off and landed. He turned to Gin and the others, who were all looking at him in awe. "Come on!"

Gin's mind snapped back on, "Right, we have to get out of here before the marines return." Coby and Alvida were in no position to argue with the logic and the four hurried themselves out of town. "How come you didn't use that power against Krieg!" Gin said as he let Sabo get into stride with him. "You could have finished him beyond any doubt. Now I hear he's busy recouping his forces and hiding from the marines."

"I always like trying the strength that my grandpa gave me before relying on the power of my devil fruit." Sabo replied. "Besides it's more fun this way!" Gin was puzzled by the smile on Sabo's face.

"Wait!" Alvida said coming into stride with the other two. "You said that you beat Krieg. Do you mean Don Krieg, the King of the East Blue!"

Gin gave a motion of a punch, "Just one punch."

"What!" Alvida cried out in astonishment. If Gin had made the statement earlier in the day Alvida's astonishment would have been disbelief, but with the display she just saw there was no way it couldn't be true. "Where the hell have you been all this time!" Alvida shouted as they rushed down the streets.

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you and Coby are now a part of my crew." To this Alvida didn't give her usual refusal. Rather she just focused on running. "Heh," Sabo said with a smile.

The group reached the docks and just as Gin said earlier there were marines making patrols on the docks. Unfortunately they could no longer see their ship at the docks. "Where's our ship Gin?" Sabo asked while remaining hidden behind some bushes along with the rest of the team.

Gin began trying to recall exactly what happened to the ship. Finally his mind replays when the duo docked and he 'tied' the ship to the dock. Gin when he realized that he never actually tied a knot rather just wrapped the rope around the nearby post. "They must have known what ship we came in on and sunk it." Gin said. He eyed Sabo to see if he would buy the story.

"Don't you mean you forgot to tie it down properly and it floated away?" Alvida said with a sly smirk on her face. Gin looked as if he had been shot, but Sabo didn't seem to notice the guilty expression. In fact Sabo seemed to not even be worried about the situation any more. "Wait here, we'll be taking my ship." Alvida said as she left the bushes, with her club securely behind her back. "Help Mr. Marine!"

The marine noticed her and was immediately completely under her spell. With nothing but infatuation in his eyes he approached Alvida. "What is the problem beautiful Miss?"

"I want to set out, but my ship is being guarded by you marines. I'm tired of being here; please help me get out to sea." Alvida pointed to the pink ship in question.

The marine nodded and looked at the marines guarding it. "You two go and report to Captain Smoker that everything is clear for now. I'll watch that ship for you." The two marines nodded and hustled off not really needing anything more than that. "There, it's all clear for you mi-" Before the marine could finish Alvida's Iron mace hurled him into the ocean.

Gin winced when he saw the marine disappear into the sky. _"She's heartless…"_

The group boarded Alvida's ship and Coby was able to direct everyone in order to leave Loguetown as quickly as possible. "Is it okay to leave the rest of our crew members behind Alvida?" Coby asked as he unfurled the sails.

"Hmph, our relationship was nothing more than fear. Those kinds of bonds are nothing short of boring." Alvida said as she looked at Sabo and Gin. _"At least it will be more interested with these guys around."_

* * *

><p>It had been a full day since Sabo and company made their escape. Back in the head office of Loguetown's marine base all the important people had assembled again with a couple of additions. Kale, Smoker, and Tashigi were present again with the addition of three more people.<p>

"So tell me just what happened Mr. Kale" The man speaking was one of the two new males in the room. He was wearing a black Newsboy cap and his red hair stuck out of the cap at the back. His eyes were covered up by the sunglasses he was wearing. Like Kale, was clad in black. One strong difference was this man was wearing a black undershirt to complete the clad in black image. Behind him at either side were a man and woman, who oddly enough looked very similar to each other.

The man had a rather soft look to him. He seemed delicate, peaceful even, as he stood at attention behind the speaking man. His brown hair was incredibly long stretching past his shoulders but was kept tidy in a nice ponytail. His calm pale blue eyes didn't seem to focus on anything in particular. At his side were two swords attached to his waist, one had a white hilt while the other hilt was black.

The woman had the same look to her, but an obviously more feminine take. Her hair was only shoulder length and she also had pale blue eyes that seemed to look at nothing and everything at the same time. The woman looked a few years younger than the man beside her. And at her waist were two pistols holstered at either side.

"Well Remy," Kale began nervously.

"Don't use my name. You only know it through Rudolph. To you I'm just an Inspector."

Smoker made a mental note of the term. _"Inspectors… they say that but in actuality they are the personal aids to the World Government's Elders. Besides the admirals and a select few they are the only ones to come in direct contact with the Elders."_

"Right, well Mr. Whitewood revealed that he has devil fruit abilities that give him the power of the stars. He has eaten the Star-Star fruit, and it was an unforeseen turn of events. I won't fail to capture him next time." Kale said with confidence.

"That better be the case."

"Why not just give him a bounty like the rest of the criminals and be done with it?" Smoker asked.

"Well the current ruler of Goa Kingdom, one Queen Rose Whitewood, will not allow us to charge her husband with the crimes. With the Goa Kingdom's sway in the East Blue we can't risk getting them mad or we may end up losing the entire East Blue. So we need to bring in Sabo ourselves and prove, through him, that he did in fact commit the crimes. Then we charge him and ship him to Impel Down. Until then we have to wait until he commits another crime, that doesn't involve us or the marines, to give him a bounty." The man with the sunglasses wore a smile that could only be described as creepy. It was as if any and all emotion was hidden behind that smile, and the thought of what could be behind his shades would force any normal person to shudder in unease.

"So essentially he wasn't lying when he said he was no longer Whitewood." Smoker said. "We can't link this Thurston character to Whitewood until we actually bring him in." Kale nodded realizing the truth in the sentiment.

"I'll bring him in, don't worry Rem- Inspector." Kale said.

"Good, feel free to tell Rudolph to use the entire CP3 so as not to make another mistake." The man said while readjusting his glasses. "Sabo D. Thurston is a threat that must be contained in the East Blue."


	7. The Monster's You Make

**Axelpro:** Hello and sorry for the absence of chapters. Here is the 6th and I also realize that I have a small problem of not proofreading my own stuff. Knowing that I'll most likely never do it, or do a good job of it at that I want to ask if there are any people willing to proofread my chapters before I make the official posts. Essentially when I finish a chapter I'll send it to you first to read and correct for any mistakes that you can see then send me it back. If there are any people willing to answer this request feel free to shoot me a PM. I only need 2-3 people to look at it. Anyways without further delay...

* * *

><p>Alvida's ship had just returned to calm waters after sailing right through a storm. Sabo was going over the map of the East Blue with Coby while Gin and Alvida were getting rid of any standing water on the ship. "I can't believe you just sailed us right through a storm." Sabo said a little frustrated.<p>

"I'm sorry Sabo; I didn't see the storm coming. It seemed to come out of nowhere, it was impossible to detect."Coby replied.

"They say the grand line is crazy like this all the time. It looks like I need a navigator who can do the impossible." Sabo mused to himself. "Coby I'm taking you off navigator duties. Instead I want you to learn how to cook meals for the crew."

"Eh!" Coby was taken aback by Sabo's sudden decision. "But-but-but" Coby stammered.

"Don't be like that Coby, I still want you to help out and I realize that you aren't going to be our navigator. This is a change that will benefit the entire crew." Sabo's explanation seemed to take with Coby as he nodded in acceptance of the decision.

"But I don't know the first thing about making food. How am I supposed to be the ship's chef?"

To this Sabo placed his hand on Coby's shoulder, "I know you can do it Coby."

"Yeah, aren't you like a brainiac or something?" Gin said as he came up from below deck with a bucket of water. He was busy getting any standing water out from below so there wouldn't be any complications. Gin walked over to the side and emptied the water over the side and back into the ocean.

"Huh? Whatever told you that I was a genius?" To this Gin simply pointed at Coby's face. "My face?" Gin shook his head and pointed at Coby's face again. "My glasses?" Gin nodded to which Coby got a little agitated. "How can having glasses immediately make me smart!"

To this Gin simply shrugged, "It just does." Sabo nodded in approval of Gin's analysis.

"You too Captain!"

"We all know you have the brainpower Coby. Don't try and hide it." Alvida chimed in. She was sitting in a lounge chair on the far side of the ship taking in the sun's rays.

Gin looked her way and realized she was relaxing, something that ticked him off. "I thought you were doing some important work! You should be helping me get rid of the water we took on in the storm!" Gin said stamping his feet.

"I'm making sure my skin stays beautiful. That is an important enough job. I know you can handle the water situation." Alvida responded. She then offered Gin a thumbs up, "I believe in you."

"Why you!" Gin grumbled as he started over in Alvida's direction. Sabo started to laugh and Gin realized that there was no real point in forcing Alvida to work and he went back down below deck to get more water out.

"So where are we heading now Captain? Since the storm has set us off course from Loguetown?" Alvida said as she continued to lounge.

"If I'm reading this map right it looks like we are heading to a place called Sakae Island." Sabo said as he continued to go over the map with Coby. When Alvida heard this she got up from her chair and went over to where Sabo and Coby were sitting.

"Did you say Sakae Island?" Alvida asked.

"Yeah, do you know the place?" Sabo asked in return.

Alvida shook her head, "Not really, I've heard of it though." The news was a bit surprising to Coby and Sabo. "The island is made of essentially one big town, like Loguetown in that sense. The town is called Twilight City and it is home to the premiere Shipbuilders in the East Blue. It is also well known for the musical talent that it produces on a regular basis."

"This is fortunate indeed," Sabo began. "It seems we can kill two birds with one stone. My little brother always said that the musician was an integral part of the crew and we can get a new ship while we're at it."

"New ship?" Alvida asked. "Why? What's wrong with my ship?"

To this Sabo folded his arms, "It's too pink."

"Too pink! You don't think it looks bad do you Coby?" Alvida looked to Coby only to find that he was perfectly imitating Sabo's crossed arms and nod. "Gin what about-" Before she could finish she noticed Gin was right beside Coby with his arms folded and nodding as well. "Gah! Forget all of you then!" Alvida said storming off.

"To Twilight City then!" Sabo said as he left the map alone so he could look at the vast ocean.

* * *

><p>"Fascinating..." The man who spoke was clad in black, namely a black suit with a black undershirt. He also was wearing a black bucket hat, like the type fisherman wear. A few bangs of his red hair came out in the front of his hat, but not enough to keep his hazel eyes from view. The man was seated behind a desk with his feet kicked up. The man was speaking to Kale who stood at attention in front of the desk. "So those are Remy's orders?"<p>

"Yes Rudolph," Kale began. "Remy wants us to use the entire Cipher Pol 3 division to take on this Sabo character. He wants him finished before he can get out to the grand line."

Rudolph, the man behind the desk, smirked. "That little brother of mine. Always so cold and calculating. Well if it's his orders we can't refuse." Rudolph removed his feet from the desk and stood up. "What do you know about Sabo's abilities?"

"Sir, he's very well trained and he has a devil fruit power. From what a gathered from fighting with him he is a Star man, capable of reproducing the nuclear reactions that occur in all stars."

"Fascinating..." Rudolph said as he moved from behind his desk. "It seems that he may be able to give us some trouble after all." Rudolph thought aloud. "Have you found any weaknesses that we can exploit?"

Kale nodded, "From my investigation of the string of murders he is linked to he killed the entire royal family except one. The woman that he married, Rose Whitewood. If we can use her then we can get to Sabo easily."

"Ah, but therein lies the problem. We can't touch Mrs. Whitewood without stirring up a political storm." Rudolph replied.

"Sir, we don't need to actually bring any harm to the woman. All we need to do is make Sabo believe that we will if he does not cooperate."

"Fascinating..." Rudolph said as he paced about. "Well if we are going to blatantly lie about our handling of Mrs. Whitewood then we can't go too far otherwise he will need proof before we can do anything. The lie can only serve as bait to move him; perhaps get him away from his crew. We will have to do the actual capture ourselves."

"My thoughts exactly sir."

"Fascinating..." Rudolph said as he returned to his desk and kicked his feet up again. "It looks like we have something really good going here." Before anything more could be discussed another black suited person entered the room, it was a woman. This woman was wearing a black hair band to keep her brown hair in check and had deep blue eyes. She was wearing a purple undershirt and had a rather large rifle strapped to her back. "What is it Bella?"

"It's for Kale; it seems that the person you are keeping tabs on is in a bit of a tough spot." Bella said handing Kale a manila folder. Kale flipped it open and his face darkened a bit.

Rudolph looked on with a rather creepy smile, "Fascinating..." "Go ahead and take care of that business while we iron out the details of the plan. I need you at 100% for this and getting closure on that front will help get you there. For his sake you should meet him in person and tell him what he needs to know." Kale nodded and took his leave. Rudolph then turned to Bella, "Go and gather the rest of the Cipher Pol 3 heads. We're having a strategy meeting." Bella nodded and left Rudolph to ponder the coming events by himself.

* * *

><p>Sabo and crew just arrived at Twilight city and were lowering their anchors in the dock. The group was still not officially a pirate crew, as they had no jolly roger, so they decided they could masquerade as regular civilians for the time being. Gin was busy dropping the anchor as the rest were waiting for him to finish.<p>

"Hurry up Gin; we have to go see about getting a musician for the crew!" Sabo shouted, to which Gin picked up his tonfa and secured them on his back strap.

"Why are old men always so slow?" Alvida said as she waited alongside Coby and Sabo.

"I'm not old!" Gin said as he walked over to the group. "If you keep saying that I'll make sure I-" Gin's threat was cut off when a strange figure leapt over their heads and landed in the middle of the ship.

Upon closer inspection the figure was undoubtedly a teenage boy with slicked back reddish hair. He was carrying with him a brown satchel. The boy started to go over the ship and was writing things down on a pad of paper.

"Hey! What are you doing on my ship? You can't just jump on without any warning." Alvida said as she marched over to the mysterious boy. Alvida's shouting apparently garnered the boy's attention as he stopped what he was doing. He slowly turned to face the group and everyone was startled by what they saw. The boy was wearing what appeared to be a panda mask that had a very mellow attitude. "Gah!" Alvida let out the sound in surprise.

"I'm just taking note of the ship's damages," the panda masked boy said. "It looks like you took on a lot of light water damage; you must have recently gotten out of a storm of some kind right?" Sabo nodded in agreement with the evaluation. "Well lots of this will dry and with some simple patchwork we can get past that. Now as for the paint job..."

"Huh!" Alvida said suddenly becoming alert. "What is wrong with the paint job!"

"It's too pink..." The panda boy replied. Sabo, Coby, and Gin all folded their arms and gave their nods of approval.

"You ungrateful-"

"You'll have to excuse Pierre," A new voice said cutting Alvida off. This new person strolled on the ship causing Sabo's group to drop their jaws in wonder as they looked at this new person. "He is my apprentice shipwright," the man continued. "He tends to get a little ahead of himself." The man said with a smile.

His words seemed to be lost on the group as they all were busy staring at the man himself rather than listening to his words. What Sabo and company were staring at was the ridiculous hairstyle of the man speaking to them, which could only be described as a "Crab Haircut". In the front the man's red hair shot up in two distinct peaks, easily assumed to by the crab's eyes. Then on either side of the man's head were four bangs that came out sideways, like crab legs. He was also wearing an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt that had a large crab, from top view, drawn on the back.

"Hah! I'm acting just like Pierre," The man began after noticing the silence. "Before I forget all my manners my name is Gani Kabuto, head shipwright of the Twilight City Shipyard."

"Hello Mister Kab-kabu..." Sabo stammered. The rest of the group looked to Sabo to see what he was going to say, "Kab-kabu...Crabs." Sabo said seemingly unable to help himself.

"Ah!" Coby shouted in disbelief, "How could you say that! That's so disrespectful! Right guys?" Coby looked to the others for confirmation.

Gin folded his arms and nodded, "It fits pretty well."

"That's what I was going to say." Alvida replied.

"Hey damn it! I'm right here!" Kabuto said stomping his feet.

"Relax Master Kabuto; you get that all the time." Pierre said as he stopped his analysis of the ship.

"I know..." Kabuto said in a sort of defeated tone. "Well it goes without saying that we will fix your ship as long as you have the money to pay for the repairs."

_"Wow, he picked himself up pretty fast"_ Coby thought to himself.

"Come on I'll give you a tour of the shipyard while Pierre finishes his evaluation of the ship." Kabuto suggested.

"You guys go on ahead I'll stay with the ship; I've been wanting to do some training." Gin said as he turned to head back below deck. Sabo shrugged and went with Kabuto as did Alvida and Coby. It was a short walk before the group left the docks and found themselves in the shipyard.

It was a spectacular sight as well over 50 Shipwrights were all bustling around lugging around materials and working on ships. "As you can see we have a big operation here as we make ships for the majority of the East Blue. This includes some marine ships as well. Everyone here is an expert in the shipbuilding field and it takes all of us working as a team to build a ship."

"This is amazing Mr. Crabs," Sabo said as he looked around.

"Please stop calling me that..." Kabuto said with a bit of agitation in his voice. Kabuto cleared his throat and continued to speak, "Every shipwright here puts a part of his very soul into creating a ship. From this we like to think that since every person puts a bit of himself into the ship all these different parts combine to make a new whole, the soul of the ship if you will."

"Huh, I never thought of it like that." Coby said in wonder as Kabuto took them past a particularly large battleship that was mid construction.

"These ships look quite nice." Alvida chimed in. "Tell me do you do any work for pirate ships?"

"I won't lie, if they have money we will service their ships. We either have them take down their Jolly Rogers while they are in port or we have them use an unsanctioned docking site where we can repair their ships in private. In my opinion making ships for pirates is more exciting than the civilian or marine vessels. They always have some strict plans that we have to follow making stock ships, but pirates always let us be unique and put our own twists in. Something that Pierre is very good at, if anything that boy is more of an inventor than a shipwright." Kabuto said with a proud smirk.

"An inventor huh? We could use one of those on our crew."

"Well forget it, he's still an apprentice under me and I won't have him joining up with some boring civilians that can't even give a head shipwright some respect." Kabuto said.

"That ship's amazing!" Sabo said as he ran over to it and stared in wonder. The ship in question was near completion, the main thing it was lacking were the masts and a paint job.

Kabuto's face held an expression of defeat, _"You just ignored everything I just said." _Picking himself up quick as he did before Kabuto cleared his throat and walked over to Sabo and the ship he was looking at. "You have a good eye, it's actually a Carrack type vessel ordered by one of our pirate customers. As you can see it's near completion and the buyer should be coming in later today to inspect the work." Sabo and company marveled at the ship for some time before Kabuto cleared his throat again, "Well that's it for the tour. I suggest you head into town and go experience Twilight City for yourselves. You know what they say about Twilight City don't you?" Kabuto asked to which Sabo simply shrugged his shoulders in confusion. "They say it's the city where you can make the impossible possible." Kabuto said with a smirk.

Sabo smiled when he heard this, "I think I like this town. Come on let's look around." Alvida and Coby both gave Kabuto their goodbyes and followed Sabo into the city.

* * *

><p>A young page was power walking down a rather extravagant corridor. There was royal purple draperies trimmed with gold lining and lush carpeting. The setting could only be a palace with the numerous paintings and lavish decorations. The young page approached a duo of door guards that barred him from continuing. Fortunately the page had means to get through the blockade and after revealing a scroll with a wax seal keeping it from opening the guards let the page through.<p>

"Your majesty, it is time to end this farce. It has gone on long enough." This was the first voice the page heard as he entered the room. When he looked around what could only be described as a throne room he saw numerous well dressed people standing before a woman who was seated in a golden throne. The page immediately recognized the woman as none other than Rose Whitewood, the Queen of Goa Kingdom. The page decided to wait for a more appropriate time to push past the nobles and give his document to the queen.

"Is that all this is to you Julian, a farce!" Rose said in a stern tone. The speaker was taken aback at how Rose raised her voice. "This is my husband you are talking about; I will not have him convicted of a crime if I do not believe he has done it!"

"You must see reason your majesty! He is the only one still not present to defend himself after the long string of murders!" Another noble said stepping out from the mob. The portly man was known as Miles Grace, a lesser noble who rose to prominence in the place of the Whitewood family that was destroyed in the murders.

"There is no hard evidence to convict him so I will not do so. I firmly believe my husband was a good man, better than all of you in fact. Already ready to judge a man you so recently hailed as a hero." Rose countered. Mr. Grace stepped back in response.

"Some might say that he did it to put you on the throne..." Julian muttered under his breath.

Rose picked up what Julian said and looked in his direction with fire in her eyes. "Julian Poles, what did you just say!"

Julian cleared his throat and continued with a smug look on his face, "Some people are talking. They are saying how fortunate that you landed yourself in the position of Goa Kingdom's ruler." Julian said with his voice full of hidden accusation.

"You think this is fortunate?" Rose said as she started to get emotional. "You think it's fortunate that I get to learn that my entire family has been systematically killed off? That my husband has disappeared? Or that every day I have to hear your conspiracy theories aimed at my husband at me? You tread on very thin ground Mr. Poles." Julian bowed his head in apology. He knew that if Rose was using his first name that she very serious.

In order to break the tension the page had squeezed his way through the nobles who massed together like a pack of ravenous beasts licking their chops at wounded prey. "Your majesty, I have an urgent letter!" The page handed the letter to Rose who smiled at the young boy and patted him on the head.

Rose opened the letter and read the document, and sighed. In truth it wasn't such an urgent matter but lately she ordered all of her documents to be marked as such so that she would be able to use them as an excuse to clear her throne room. With the letter in hand she rose to her feet. "I'm sorry but there is business I must attend to. I thank you all for your concerns and I will continue my investigation of the incident as well as the search for my husband." Rose's smile was faint as she spoke to the gathering with a quiet but regal voice. The gathering dispersed, hardly sated, leaving Rose and the page alone in the throne room. "It's a good thing you came when you did Rio." The page nodded his head accepting the words of gratitude.

"I know those nobles are like vultures. Any time your majesty."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Rose gave Rio a light flick on the forehead. "It's just Rose." Rio nodded as he rubbed his forehead. "I should go and see to this though. It seems as though my brother-in-law has taken a turn for the worst." Rose said as she stepped down from her throne which was elevated from the ground via a handful of steps.

* * *

><p>As the trio left the shipyard the trio noticed how lively the City was. Still near the main port they could see dockworkers moving crates. They all seemed to be rather jovial as they went about their tasks, throwing some crates onto ships and pulling others off. Sabo caught a glimpse of some rather exotic fish being pulled off one of the boats. Immediately Sabo recognized it as Blue-Finned Elephant Tuna, a king of fishes when it came to taste. The sight of such a tasty prospect made Sabo's mouth begin to pool with water.<p>

"This place seems really lively, not like a lot of the village and towns in this sea." Coby remarked. Coby made the comment based off of his experiences during his time as Alvida's cabin boy. Coby, like Alvida, apparently missed seeing the Elephant Tuna and also was oblivious to the fact that Sabo was now making his way towards the tuna and away from the group. "It reminds more of Loguetown more than anything else, wouldn't you say Alvida?"

Alvida shook her head in agreement, "Yes well Twilight City does make most of its money due to the fact that it is a big traffic center in the East Blue. In that respect it's a lot like Loguetown, but where Loguetown gets a lot of Grand Line trade Twilight City is the main hub for the heart for the East Blue."

The two continued to walk past the port and further into the town. Immediately after getting away from the port the two were immersed in a vast open market. Coby and Alvida could see that most of the vendors were selling things that came straight from the docks, which made the location of the open market sensible. Dock workers unloaded crates right next to stalls, received their payment, and returned to the port. Everywhere Coby looked he saw a different vendor selling a different item. From food to firearms the market had practically everything he could imagine.

"This place is incredible! I've never seen such a large open market in my life." Coby said smiling as he looked around at all the stalls.

"I always tell myself that every time I come here." Alvida said.

At this point Coby's curiosity was piqued. "Wait, you've been here before Alvida?" Coby probed. For as long as Coby has known Alvida, a staggering two years, Alvida has never mentioned or docked at this place. This of course begs the question as to how Alvida is apparently so familiar with the place, and for Coby this was a question he would not let go unanswered.

Alvida smiled, "My my, aren't you nosy?" Alvida patted Coby on the head and kept walking beside him.

A couple minutes passed and Alvida didn't offer another word. Finally Coby realized that Alvida had no intention of answering his question. "Come on Alvida, we're supposed to be crewmates I think I deserve to hear an answer."

It was at this point that Alvida realized that Sabo wasn't with them anymore. She then gripped Coby's arm and pulled him close. "Just because we are riding on the same ship and I am no longer recognized as the Captain doesn't mean that we are equals. Don't you dare make that assumption, not after you served me for two years." Alvida whispered this into Coby's ear in such a way that it sent shivers down Coby's spine as recalled how he had spent the past two years.

Recalling how he always had to tiptoe around Alvida's temper, for fear of incurring her wrath, Coby began to tense. "Y-yes Mistress Alvida" Coby said, folding to Alvida's threats. It was at this point that Coby too realized that Sabo was no longer with them.

"As long as we have that established, come on." Alvida said nudging Coby up to a proper speed. "The more interesting stuff is past all these vendors. While it's great to see open markets, usually the best stuff gets a roof." Alvida continued to impart her wisdom of the town but Coby had long since stopped looking around in wonderment. Coby's focus was on Alvida and Alvida alone. He watched her mood constantly and made sure she wasn't getting upset as they journeyed through the town.

For the most part Alvida's outburst seemed to be a single occurrence to keep Coby from being too nosy. While Alvida didn't really appear to be happy or sad she did seem sort of distant. She merely glanced at the stores as she passed them. Coby knew was he was seeing but couldn't bring the words for it to the front of his mind. It wasn't as if Alvida was having an episode of paranoia, but it was still peculiar enough to warrant Coby's curiosity. Finally it clicked; it was as if Alvida was returning to her "old stomping grounds" she was looking around to see if there were people she recognized. It wasn't necessarily to avoid them, but rather just simply to note that those people were still around. The two continued like this as they delved deeper into the city.

* * *

><p>Rose and Rio closed the door behind them as they entered the facility where Rose's brother-in-law, Stelly, was being kept. The walls were completely made of stone and the gray color gave the whole building a rather unpleasant feel. Rose and Rio proceeded through the corridor stopping top give a short bow to the guard standing right in front of the door that the two were about to enter. The two entered into the room to see another rather empty space, save for a lone man sitting on the far side of the room with a door next to him.<p>

"Hello Mr. Pan." Rose said as she approached the man on the far side of the room. The man was sitting behind a desk and his most notable feature was undoubtedly his rather peculiar pencil moustache. To be more precise it was the fact that his pencil mustache was the only source of hair on his entire body, which of course meant bald and no eyebrows, just a thin strip of hair under his nose. Of course Rose had no problem addressing him but Rio, Rose's page, couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sight.

"Oh Mrs. Rose, it's nice of you to show up. Please excuse my misshapen appearance." Pan proceeded lick his first two fingers on either hand and proceed to wipe at his head.

Rio immediately recognized the motion, _"Wait a second, he's wiping at his head as if he were moving his hair out of the way! But he has no hair!"_ Rio was in utter shock as he watched Pan.

"Oh I don't mind." Rose said. She apparently didn't seem to register the oddity that was before her. "I'm here to see my brother-in-law."

"Of course," Pan said as he jotted some things down on the papers in front of him. "That boy doesn't know how lucky he is to have such a kind soul looking out for him, and the Queen no less." Pan said as he pressed a button.

"Oh I am not so special. It's only natural that one looks after their family. It is especially important when times start to get rough." Rose said with a rather pleasant smile. Pan nodded and pressed a button that opened the door next to him. "Well Rio, stay here and wait for me. I will be back in a little bit." Rio nodded and took a seat.

"Well I hope you have a good visit Mrs. Rose." Pan said as he wiped his forehead, once again he did so in a manner that suggested he had hair despite the reality of the situation.

Rose nodded and went inside. As she traveled through the facility she began to feel a bit depressed as on her left and right were people sitting behind bars. Each person had their own individual cell, with iron bars keeping them from getting to the main walkway that connected all of the cells. It was set up like a standard prison, but each of the cells had a decent amount of furnishing. They had a bathroom, a desk, a bed, and even a barred window so they could see outside. Rose always worried how Stelly fared in this place after his mental breakdown.

With Mr. Whitewood dead and Sabo missing the responsibilities of managing the Whitewood name fell solely on Stelly's shoulders, who, up this point, was making a profession of slacking off in his studies. It was safe to say that Stelly had little to no idea of how to manage an entire family and it wasn't long before this became apparent to those lesser families that threw their lot in with the Whitewoods. With Stelly's lacking skill the Grace family took the opportunity and mercilessly crushed Stelly, pushing the Whitewood family into debt and then seizing all of their assets. Still reeling from Sabo's disappearance as well as his adoptive father's death Stelly's mental state quickly deteriorated as he earned the enmity of the lesser members of the Whitewood family name. Utterly losing at the game of noble politics Stelly was unable to function normally and was eventually brought to this facility where he could either live out the rest of his days in relative peace or try to recover from the staggering blow to his psyche. Rose checked up with him often, as she was the only person that he could call family at this point.

Rose came up to his cell and noticed that Stelly was still rather disheveled in his appearance. His hair had grown out, unchecked, and he had even started to grow a little scruff for facial hair. He was slouched in the corner up against the wall. It always pained Rose to see her brother-in-law in such a state. "Stelly, how are you today?"

"Is that you sis?" Stelly said without moving his mouth. His scraggly orange hair covered most of his face. Stelly didn't bother giving any notion that he acknowledged that there was in fact a person talking to him.

"Yes, it's me. I came to see how you were doing." Rose said trying to get a positive reaction from Stelly.

"Why did he leave sis?"

"Please Stelly, we can talk about this once you-"

"Hmph, you never did want to answer that question did you." Stelly said cutting her off. "Don't worry… I already know why he left." Stelly said as he started to get him from his slouched position. "It's that damned Straw Hat. It belonged to some people he knew in the past, people that died in the Gray Terminal incident." Stelly was now on his feet, but his head was still hung low, keeping his face from view. "He probably thinks I don't remember how crazed he was that day when I told him about the plan to burn the nobles, father's plan."

"Yes I know, you've told me this already." Rose said as she stood in front of his cell with a concerned look on her face.

"Yes…yes, all of it is easy to figure out. Once you decide to look that is." Stelly said almost murmuring to himself now. "I even understand why you are the sole survivor of the royal family." At this point Rose was tearing up, she hated seeing Stelly in this condition. Even more than that she knew the hurtful thing that Stelly was about to say next. "He knew you too well, that Sabo." Stelly chuckled a bit. "He knew that you wouldn't let go of your obligations. He made sure you had to become the queen so that there would be no viable means for you to follow after him." Stelly's tone slowly started to lose its composure as he continued. "Pretty selfish wouldn't you say sis?"

Rose hated when Stelly was like this. She could hardly speak as tears welled in her eyes. "Why do you insist that he's the culprit in all of this? He wouldn't do som-"

"Don't you dare try and defend him!" Stelly shouted at the top of his lungs. For this he lifted his face for the first time in the conversation revealing his eyes. Rose immediately noted that Stelly's eyes were the same. Stelly's eyes were broken, not physically but when Rose looked into them she only saw the fractured remains of the Stelly she knew. Everything seemed to be held together by something that she couldn't describe nor wanted to. "Not to me…not to me." After his outburst Stelly lowered his head as silence fell upon the two for a moment or so. Stelly spoke up again "There is one question I can't seem to answer." Stelly said as he slowly approached the iron bars that separated him from his sister-in-law. "Why didn't he kill me?"

The question took Rose by surprise. Still Stelly continued, "I believed the same as father. I knew about the attack. Am I not good enough of a noble to be killed by him!" At this point Stelly was gripping on the bars with all his might as he spoke in a raised tone to Rose. "Why didn't he kill me Rose?"

"Y-you know that he could never do such a thing!" Rose was still reeling in shock from the question posed to her.

"Then…" Tears started to flow in abundance from Stelly's eyes. "Then why didn't he ask me to follow him?" Stelly slumped down in the cage, still gripping the bars as he wept. "10 years I've called him my big brother. 10 years I've looked up to him as a role model. 10 long years I looked at his back with a smile. Isn't that worth more than some dead friends he made four a few months when he was a kid!" Rose was speechless, as she had never knew this side of Stelly was there. All she could do is look on at the broken person in front of her. "He could have at least asked…tested me…something. But no, he abandoned everything he had here and disappeared to follow the dreams of the deceased! What about me! I was standing right behind him for 10 god damn years!" Stelly continued to weep for some time.

Calming down a bit Stelly looked up at Rose with his tear soaked face, "I always thought that the present was supposed to be more important than the past…" He said as he got up to his feet. "But I guess I was wrong, I guess it is okay for him to abandon me. It's not like he was the first one to do so. Heh, I should have seen it before, he's just following the precedent my real parents set."

"Don't say that Stelly!" Rose shouted. Rose's outburst came from the fact that she knew Stelly's parents when she was little. They were lesser nobles and they behaved a great deal like Sabo did when he was in the Goa Kingdom. They always looked kindly on those less fortunate than themselves. "You know that they tried their best to help others and died following what they believed."

"Really?" Stelly said looking Rose in the eyes.

"Yes, they truly did love you. It was unfortunate that they died helping people in the Gray Terminal, but I know they would have wanted nothing more than to see you grow up." Rose said feeling as if she was getting through to Stelly.

"Is that really what you think sis?" Stelly asked to which Rose nodded her head with a smile. "If they really wanted to see me grow up they wouldn't have run off and gotten themselves killed by some two-bit muggers in the Gray Terminal!" Stelly started to violently shake the bars as he continued his maddened rant. "They would have stayed with me, an infant not much over a year old! If I was truly valuable to them they would have spent their time taking care of me instead of running around trying to help other people. They would have helped me!"

At this point Rose was truly frightened. This fear came from the fact that she now knew what was holding Stelly together. It was rage. Rage was the sole thing that was keeping Stelly from falling apart and descending into madness. It was a truly frightening thing looking at a person who had only rage holding them up.

"What's wrong with me sis? Why doesn't anyone want to stay with me?" Stelly asked.

"Don't say that, I'm here for you Stelly."

"Don't lie…you're not here for me." Stelly said with scorn. "I'm the only link to him you have left in this kingdom, besides some sentimental trinkets." Stelly said as he looked at Rose. Rose had finally had enough. She couldn't bear to see Stelly in such a state. This was the main reason Rose could only once a month or so.

"I'm sorry Stelly, I have to go…" She said as she hastily left.

"I'll make them see it. I'll make them see their error in abandoning me!" Stelly shouted still trying to talk to Rose as she was leaving. "I'll show them all! Tahaha! Tahahahaha!"

* * *

><p>Coby and Alvida were standing in front of a rather colorful display of fashion. The two were watching a few models display some outfits. Alvida was there to see what the new styles were while Coby was there more or less to keep Alvida from getting angry.<p>

"So how do you like the show Coby?" Alvida said as she herself was growing increasingly unimpressed with what was being put on display.

"It's f-fine Mistress Alvida." Coby belted out on command. Alvida noticed the shift in attitude since she gave him the light threat back at the open market. While she noticed it Alvida didn't really have an opinion formed on the matter so she decided to see if she could goad a more sincere answer out of Coby.

"Really? Because I was thinking that I could make half of this stuff myself with scraps we have lying around on my ship." Alvida said. Alvida wasn't looking and didn't realize how loud she said the words but one of the models heard the careless remark. He then proceeded to stop the show in order to address the claim.

"Did I just hear you right?" The model said as he approached Alvida. "You can make these designer outfits with scraps from your ship?"

Realizing that she had been heard Alvida sighed as she turned around. "That's right. I'm not impressed one bit by these new fashions that you are showing off."

"Take that back you old hag!" The entire crowd was surprised when the insult came roaring out. Even more so when it was obvious that it didn't come from the model Alvida was having the argument with. Still no one was more surprised or frightful that the person standing right next to Alvida, Coby.

_"This is bad, really really really bad!" _Coby thought to himself.

"Old…hag…!" Alvida said as she slowly turned towards the source of the voice. The common members of the crowd realized the fury in Alvida's eyes and quickly moved themselves from her eyesight. This continued until one person defiantly refused to scurry from Alvida's intense line of sight.

The person in question was a young teenage girl with flowing brown hair and hazel eyes. She looked directly at Alvida "I said take it back! These designs are from the famous Mr. K.T.!" Of course Alvida didn't say her insult with any degree of sincerity but at this point she couldn't let the person in front of her go unscathed. It was also unfortunate that Coby was too sacred of Alvida to try to mediate the situation in any respect.

"I'd suggest that you take back that comment of yours! You don't want to cross me…" Alvida said with her voice as cold as ice.

"Old Hag!" The young girl said, still defiant.

Just as the two were about to come to blows a third person stepped in on the young girl's side. "Hey I won't let anyone cause problems with my crewmate!" The person who stepped forward had a rather peculiar getup. He was wearing a pair of dark green pants with a white shirt and a green sash.

Before the situation could progress any further Sabo came out of crowd as well, "Mmf fuu hrmf!" Unlike the man who stepped in for the girl Sabo's mouth and hands were full of Elephant Tuna. When the two extra people in the situation set eyes on each other they froze. Sabo immediately swallowed the Tuna in his mouth so that he could speak clearly. "Zoro?"


	8. Mellorines

"Roronoa Zoro?" As the words came from Sabo's mouth he was already sizing up the man in front of him. The two looked at each other with equal amounts of surprise on their face. "That is you Zoro, I could pick that taciturn expression out anywhere!" Sabo looked excited as he sized up his old acquaintance. Sabo closed the distance between himself and Zoro and began to him a slow once over. "New swords, new earrings...you trying to go for some kind of 'cool' look?"

"Oi, let me at least get a word in!" Zoro set Sabo back a couple steps with a light push. "Looks like it really is you, eh Sabo?" Sabo nodded with a grin on his face. "To be honest you didn't peg me as the kind of guy that would make it out on the open seas." Zoro adjusted his swords and gave Sabo a once over as well. "I could also say the same for you with the whole change in look."

As the two conversed Alvida and the mystery girl came together behind Sabo and Zoro. Alvida had an evil expression across her face as she approached the woman who had so grievously insulted her only moments earlier. Alvida had taken the opportunity to examine her foe for any weakness and fortunately she had found one that was open for all to see. "I may be a 'bit' older than you, but at least I'm not some flat-chested bimbo!" Alvida took the chance to proudly display her chest, an act which got the attention of the male onlookers.

"You old hag!" The girl lunged at Alvida in an attempt to push but her hands were instantly deflected to one side upon contact. She proceeded to fall on her face, at which point Alvida started to laugh, sure in her victory.

"Yo Zoro!" Another man pushed through the crowd to greet Zoro. The only significant trait that Sabo and Coby could see was the length of this person's nose. "It looks like the shipwrights are done with their inspection of the ship. The others got the estimate and are waiting for you."

"You have a full bounty hunting crew? What happened to Johnny and Yosaku?" The new character had piqued Sabo's interest.

"I was just about to get to that, I ended up becoming a pirate. Being a pirate will allow me to fight strong people no matter their affiliation. Johnny and Yosaku decided to join me with my new crew." Zoro looked over to the girl who was still failing in her attempt to try and push the victorious Alvida. "That's Luci," Zoro pointed to his long nosed comrade, "Usopp".

"Captain Usopp! Captain!" Usopp blurted out with his arms outstretched. Zoro simply waived off the notion.

Sabo took the wave as a cue for his turn in the formalities. "Over there is Alvida, and this is Coby. They're part of my pirate crew." Zoro was a bit puzzled when he looked at the two. Coby didn't really have the physique and Alvida seemed far too villainous to travel with Sabo.

"Oi Zoro, should we do something about that?" Usopp directed Zoro's attention to the rather determined Luci who was still falling flat on her face. Zoro shrugged his shoulders and walked over to Luci. Zoro grabbed Luci by the waist and started walking away. "I guess that works, I think we're heading over to the "Red Skies" bar. You should meet up with us there and we can really have some fun!"

Sabo nodded and waved farewell to his old acquaintance and his crew.

* * *

><p>The docks had gotten a lot quieter with the rest of the crew out seeing the city. Shipwrights moved with purpose as they set about accomplishing their individual tasks, all in order to keep the docks running smoothly. In particular one of the younger shipwrights was busy taking jotting down notes as he walked across a peculiar pink ship. As he moved around he made a subconscious note to avoid the man who was exercising in the center of the ship. The young shipwright, Pierre, was just about finished with his estimates and circled the paint job for emphasis. "You like being a pirate?" He called out.<p>

Gin was doing the push-up portion of his regular exercise regiment. While this part of the exercise was regular the type of push-ups he was doing was anything but. Gin had put himself in a handstand position, so his entire body weight was being supported by his hands, which were touching in a way that made a triangle in the open space between them. To make the exercise more efficient Gin had gone through the trouble of balancing weights on his feet, which were now suspended in the air. With this setup he continued doing a countless number of repetitions. Despite this when he heard Pierre's question he could still stop and maintain focus in order to answer. "Yeah, I can't really complain. After all my particular set of skills don't really qualify me for a lot else."

"So you're a pirate by circumstance?" Pierre, having finished his estimation, found a seat on the ship's railing nearby Gin. Gin found it interesting that Pierre was wondering about the pirate life. He tossed the weights atop his feet to the deck of the ship and with a powerful thrust of his hands Gin pushed himself with enough force to launch from the ground and land on his feet. Gin shook his head to answer Pierre's question as he took a seat next to the boy and stretched his hand out towards him. Pierre looked about and saw what Gin desired. Towel in hand Gin started to wipe the sweat away from his face. "So why do it then?"

"I could have been a marine, or a bodyguard, or a common bandit. I decided to be a pirate because..." Gin paused to think of a way to word his response. Nothing coming to him Gin scratched his head in frustration, "Ah, you'll have to ask the Captain when he gets back. If I answer you right now I won't be doing it justice." Pierre looked a little disheartened by the lack of answer. "Why are you so pressed on the matter anyways? Don't you like working with ships?"

"I do, I mean it's in my blood after all. But then again so is pirating!" Pierre said as he looked at Gin. Gin could only smile as he saw a pair of eyes that genuinely yearned for adventure. "My father was a pirate who made her way along the grand line, and my mother made his ship. For as long as I can remember people have told me their story, but they only ever taught me how to be a shipwright. No one ever told me what it was like to be a pirate, just that I shouldn't bother with it."

Gin looked at Pierre in a different light with the new information, "The Grand line huh? You must have had some crazy parents."

"Not really, they were kind of run of the mill for Water 7."

"Water 7?" Gin couldn't hide the puzzled expression. When Pierre opened his mouth to explain Gin held out his hand. "Don't worry about the explanation, it will probably just confuse me more. If anything I might actually get to see the place first hand." Now it was Pierre who had the puzzled expression. "Our Captain's gunna plunge headfirst into the Grand line." Their conversation was interrupted by a loud crash. The two felt it prudent to go and observe the source of the commotion. When they peered over the ship they saw a one of the shipwrights on the ground with some two by four scattered around him. In front of him was a rather large man who had most of his body covered by a finely woven cloak. Next to him stood Kabuto. "T-that's..." Gin started.

"Don Krieg, the most powerful pirate in the East Blue," Pierre finished.

Gin eavesdrops as Kabuto meets with the client who commissioned the ship Sabo had marveled at before, Gin Ids the man as Don Krieg

"It's not my fault if your workers get in my way." The man said as he looked down on the hurting shipwright.

"Of course," Kabuto said as he dipped his head in light apology. Kabuto gritted his teeth as he did so knowing that Krieg was the only one at fault in the altercation. The shipwright was carrying a fair amount of lumber and could not move and warned all of his situation. Krieg ignored this and simply knocked the shipwright down for trying to cross his path. Being the intelligent man he was Kabuto knew that pressing the matter would have only ended badly. Even if the rumors of Krieg's defeat were true he still hand enough manpower to throw his weight around the East Blue.

Kabuto proceeded to usher Krieg around the mess he had created and onto the business that had brought him to the dock. Kabuto stopped in front of the same ship that Sabo had been admiring a little while earlier. "This is the ship you requested. It's about to be finished, we just need to finish some minor installments and you should be ready to pick it up." While Kabuto did enjoy working with pirates Krieg was a definite exception to the rule. Most pirates take it as a rule not to mess with the people who keep your ship in working order, but again Krieg was an exception to the rule. Kabuto was reminded of the times he had no choice but to wince and take anything that Krieg gave him. After all he couldn't risk the livelihood of his employees in some act of defiance that would only get them hurt.

Krieg appeared not to notice Kabuto's inner turmoil as he looked over the ship. "This will be a good flagship for my new armada. Small enough to break blockades, but strong enough to hold its own in a fire fight. You do good work Kabuto." Krieg grinned as he ran his hand along the ship and observing the spots that would undoubtedly be fit with cannons. "Yes, a nice flagship indeed. Make sure you put a panther's head at the front. How else will people know that Don Krieg is upon them?"

Seeing no better time Kabuto swallowed, "While we are on the subject of finishing the ship, there is still the matter of your payments. You made the initial payment fine but since then you haven't made any other other five payments that you agreed to make as we continued work on the ship. This is a high quality vessel and we used no cheap materials just as you instructed. As such this ship has been a rather expensive venture for us and I was wondering when you intended to make your payments. Otherwise I don't think we will be able to let you have the ship."

The last bit of Kabuto's hurried speech caught Krieg's attention. "Huh?" Kabuto winced as he wondered what the notorious pirate would do. "You said 'you won't let me have the ship'?" Krieg leaned in close enough so that Kabuto could smell his breath. "You think you have the power to stop me from taking what is mine? I'm tired of people looking down on me. Thinking I don't have what it takes to back up my words." Kabuto couldn't cringe any more than he already was.

"I think we're all tired of this show you're trying to put on Krieg." Krieg turned around to see Gin drop down from his ship. Gin was followed by Pierre who stood at his side. "Why don't you just leave with your tail between your legs?"

To this affront Krieg burst out in laughter. "Gin? Is that you?" He wiped a tear from his eye as he shoved Kabuto to the side so he could give Gin his full attention. "I thought you had disappeared after the incident on the Baratie. I was a little embarrassed that some kid's lucky punch and some parlor tricks would get you scared off like that."

"That was no lucky punch, and that kid is my captain now."

Krieg burst out in laughter again, "stop Gin you're killing me!" After Krieg's bout of laughter subsided he realized that Gin wasn't joking. "Wait so you're telling me that he uses some parlor tricks and you forget all about your debt to me and join up with some kid that has less experience than you?" Krieg was genuinely agitated at this point. Krieg was so enraged that he started to reach for the pistol he kept holstered at his waist. Gin and Pierre both noticed this and prepared themselves for what could only be a brawl. Just as Krieg touched his pistol he exhaled. "No, there's no point to this after all." Krieg turned to Kabuto who was still on the ground. "I'll tell you what Kabuto." Krieg's devilish demeanor returned as he looked at his ship. "You did such a good job, that I will pay you today forget any of the minor installations and finish any major ones by then. I want the ship operational by tomorrow"

To this Kabuto got up and clapped his hands together. "That's great, if we scrap the minor details we can have everything ready by the time you requested. So you have all of the money with you currently or will you be going to get it?" To this Krieg simply shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"I'm not paying you with money. I am going to give you a once in a lifetime offer." Everyone present didn't have a clue what Krieg was talking about. "I have it on good authority that the Emperor of the Four Seas has marked Twilight City for his next big raid." The news was so shocking that it put Kabuto right back on to the ground. Even Gin was frozen in place as he recalled just how fearsome the man holding the title was. "Now I can spare your docks as payment for this ship you've crafted for me."

"Y-you're bluffing! There's no way the he would just come here for no reason!" Kabuto said in half defiance and half denial.

"Oh but there is," Krieg said chuckling a little. "Twilight City has been too profitable for too long. According to the Emperor and his retainers it's time for 'harvest'. Oh and you can trust me...seeing as how I am one of those retainers." Krieg took the opportunity to head towards the exit, passing a rather immobile Gin along the way. "Take the ship to the unsanctioned docks and leave it there. I get this ship, I tell the Emperor that you guys are under my protection from the raid, sounds fair right? Oh and don't you dare tell anyone about this deal we have, or else I'll make sure to destroy each and every last one of you shipwrights!" They were the last words Krieg said before he left the docks.

"Master Kabuto!" Pierre rushed over to assist his master. "I don't get it, who is this Emperor of the Four Seas?"

With Pierre's help Kabuto rose to his feet. "Without mincing any words he is the most notorious pirate in all of the four seas." Kabuto's expression had turned grim.

Gin picked up where Kabuto left off. "Emperor Kaiser, a pirate so powerful that they said even the Grand line would shake in fear of him, if he chose to go there that is. He stays in the four seas because he can make the most money with the least amount of effort. To help him he recruits notable pirates, each one has around the same power as Don Krieg, from each of the four seas to join his alliance, but in truth it is more like they serve him. At any given time Kaiser can summon members of his alliance to attack places of his choosing. The marines haven't been able to catch him because he his attacks always come too quick for the marines to have any kind of response."

"A person with such authority and power over pirates exists?"

"Yes Pierre, and he has set his sights on our city because of our trade income."

"Sabo!" Gin said with full movement returning to him. "I have to warn Sabo and the crew!" Just as Gin turned to leave Pierre lunged out and grabbed him. "Let me go Pierre, we need to get out of here. It's too dangerous!"

"No! You can't leave, Krieg knows you and if he doesn't see you here he'll say that we told someone about the attack. If that happens he is going to kill us all!" At this point Gin shook Pierre off and ran out of the docks. "You can't!" Pierre called out.

Just as Pierre was about to chase after Gin Kabuto grabbed his arm, "Let him go. Pirates always have their own way of doing things. We shouldn't drag them down with us."

Gin sprinted into the market, _"We're in a bad spot...I have to let the others know!"_

* * *

><p>Tenner had every reason to be proud of himself and his accomplishments in his 50 or so years of life. He wasn't making money hand over fist or anything, but business was never bad. All the history books could really say about him was that he ran the Red Skies bar. Fortunately this was enough for Tenner, as it was the most prominent bar in all of Twilight city. Take in the fact that Twilight City was one of, if not the, most prominent locations in the East Blue and the laws of transitive relation did the rest of the work. This is of course what Tenner told himself every day the moment he realized middle age had passed him by. It was the same thing he was telling himself now as he was wiping down a glass mug he had just washed. Red Skies had established itself as the first place any local would say you 'must visit' if you want the full Twilight city, experience. Tenner of course could take all the credit, there was the talent of course. Three young beautiful ladies were sitting on the stage playing their instruments and giving the bar a soothing atmosphere. As one song ended and rolled into another they were given a hefty dose of applause with a sprinkling of whistling and a dash of cat calls. Tenner told himself that he had to give credit to more than just the talented "Twilight trio" when he looked at the two who came up and bar. The man and woman each mixed two different drinks on the spot and put them on their respective trays before heading back into the fray. Tenner noted Aria and Louis, two very talented members of the waiting staff. In fact they were so talented that Tenner didn't need any other staff. With these five Tenner has kept Red Skies, his life work, running for no less than two decades. Putting the dry mug on the counter, ready to be used again, he noted some newcomers that would soon find themselves immersed in his legacy. Immediately Tenner knew that these would be no ordinary folks, as one of the men was carrying a girl at his side as if she was some kind of package.<p>

"You didn't have to carry me the whole way Zoro," Luci said still secure in his arms. The two were flanked on both sides by Sabo, Coby, and Usopp. Alvida thought she had seen something of interest and opted to stay in the market a while longer.

Zoro finally put her down and she checked her belly to see if the ordeal had left any physical evidence. "Sorry, I forgot you were there." Luci threw her hands up in defeat as she went towards a table. "Yo, Johnny, Yosaku!" Zoro raised his hand to get their attention.

Johnny and Yosaku were sitting at the table that Luci was heading towards. Hearing their names they spun around and acknowledged the call with a simple "Captain."

Zoro seemed a tad perturbed that there was only the two of them at the table. "I thought the 'Love-Cook' was with you?" Johnny merely pointed to the bar where the owner stood drying mugs. When Zoro looked back at Johnny a tad confused Johnny simply pointed again. This time when Zoro looked he saw what Johnny meant. Off to the side of the owner was a blonde haired suit talking up a lady at a lone table. "Of course," Zoro said as he took a seat next to Yosaku. Sabo and Coby filled in empty spaces.

It took the whole time of the group's transition for a familiar face to click in Yosaku's mind. "Hey, you're Sabo!" Sabo smiled and nodded, "It's been a while! I didn't think you for life out on the seas."

"Well here I am, an honest to goodness pirate." As Sabo was talking Johnny managed to corral the waitress to take orders. With a smile she left with a full list of what everyone at the table was drinking. "More importantly, who is this 'Love-Cook' you were looking for?"

Zoro sighed, "Love-Cook!"

At the call the young blonde haired man spun from his interaction to face the groups table, "You're back from shopping Luci!" He walked over to the group, but not before leaving a piece of paper with the woman he was conversing with. He proceeded to enter the seating arrangement, specifically he wedged himself between Zoro and Luci making a rather uncomfortable fit. "Don't you see it's crowded here Marimo?"

_"Oi..."_ Zoro thought to himself, but dropped the matter altogether as he moved to make room for Sanji. "It's Captain to you by the way."

"I thought Usopp was the captain, you know Captain Usopp and all that."

"Only when it's convenient for you..."

Luci gave both parties a slight knock to the head to empty their heads of hostilities. "Sanji, Zoro, we're here to enjoy ourselves remember?" Both gave a begrudging nod as the drinks came in.

"Sanji? You mean from the Baratie?" It was a wonder that the same Sanji that Sabo had seen only weeks earlier was now sitting in front of him again. "What about the owner, what about Patty?"

Sanji turned to address Sabo and then after looking at him Sanji looked confused. "Eh? Who are you again?" To this Sabo smacked his forehead. "Oh with that whole Krieg business." Sanji broke the conversation so that he could light a cigarette. "In truth? A couple days after you left these two," he looked at Zoro and Luci, "Wound up on my ship half starved. So they got food, worked it off and she convinced to try and find the chef's paradise." Sanji's smokey exhale gave a definitive end to that particular branch of conversation.

Johnny let out a great sigh as he slouched back into a more comfortable position "Yeah, this place is paradise. Those girls on the stage know just what to play to keep this atmosphere going."

Melody, the leader of the Twilight Trio, kept the group together as she played on her rather unique guitar. The functionality of the guitar was not what piqued interest, rather it was the make that garnered attention. The body was made out of some sort of metal despite the fact that it was still being treated as an acoustic. As Melody played her guitar she kept pacing with rhythmic tapping. Helen, didn't need this as she was always on time with all of her parts. Her guitar's body was made out of the traditional wood, but the body took on a shape of its own. The body stretched out away from the box and extended out as if wanting to meet the end of the neck, but came a few inches short. This extended body allowed for six additional strings to be attached to the guitar making for a total of 12 strings for Helen's guitar. Melody's tapping was more for Cleo, the last member of the trio. She wielded a four stringed guitar that was smaller in stature than both Melody's and Helen's. As such Cleo had a tendency for moving a bit faster than the group with her parts so Melody's tapping kept her on track. With the three unique guitars an extremely wide range of sound could be produced and Melody's artistic ear was able to pick out viable harmonies from this range and eloquently put them together, which was how the Twilight trio had become famous in Twilight City.

Finishing their latest song the Twilight Trio put their guitars down and went to get themselves something to drink. "That was a good set wouldn't you say Tenner?" Melody asked. The owner smiled and nodded as he placed three full glasses on the bar for the trio. They gratefully took their respective drinks and looked around the bar. Melody spotted Johnny, Yosaku and Sanji and took a moment to observe them. "Hey, look at that group over there."

"Hey, haven't they been here for some time?" Cleo chimed in.

"We've taken at least three breaks since they've shown up. They must really like our music, huh Melody?" Melody simply nodded to Helen's sentiments. "We should go talk to them, you know thank them for listening and ask what they think."

"We should," Melody said as she put down her drink and made her way towards the group. As Melody approached she could hear as Sanji was seemingly lecturing Coby on the basics of the culinary practice, the latter was taking down notes seemingly excited just to be learning something new. "Excuse me," Melody said as she reached the table.

Sanji was the first to turn to the trio and immediately he was stricken with love. "Mellorine! Mellorine! Mellorine!" He exclaimed as he looked at each individual member of the trio. Blonde, Brunette, and Auburn, it was far too much for Sanji to bear as he tried to burst out of his seat so as to romantically engage the trio. Zoro and Luci did their best to hold him in place so as to not create a scene.

Apparently oblivious to the Love-Cook's antics Melody continued to address the group, "We couldn't help but notice your group has been here for quite some time. I wanted to ask what you all thought of our sets?"

An enamored Johnny took the opportunity, left by the lack of Sanji, to speak, "It's really soothing. I can't help but just melt away in my seat." Melody seemed pleased with the answer. "In truth we are waiting for a final member of our group to show up, she said she still had some business in the market."

Yosaku knocked Johnny on the head, "But don't think that's the only reason we're still here! Your music is really good!" Apparently Yosaku was also enamored.

Melody smiled at the obvious ingratiation. Still she was a bit puzzled, "The all the stores should be closed up by now. Just who is the person you are waiting for?" As she posed the question the door to the Red Skies swung open.

"Speak of the devil," Sabo said as he raised his hand to call the woman in question over. "Yo Alvida, over here!"

The name seemed to pierce Melody as she froze in place. The name didn't only affect Alvida as at a nearby table a woman sprung from her seated position, knocking her seat over in the process. Even Tenner dropped the mug he was drying, which shattered as it made contact with the ground. All around the bar people were dead stiff as the name rung out. Melody was the first to move as she turned to face the owner of the name. At first glance a rush of relief hit her as she found nothing to alarm her, but as Alvida came closer the feeling of dread crept back onto her face. "A-Alvida?"

"Yeah?" She responded before looking at who called her. When she did, Alvida too froze in place as a grim expression took over her face. "Melody..." A silence crept over the bar for some time as the two looked at each other and the rest of the bar looked at Alvida.

"You're not going to apologize for addressing your elder sibling with such a venomous tone?"

"Oh, so now you fancy yourself my sister?" The two didn't break eye contact. "I thought I was just some tool for you and mother to use for your careers!"

Alvida's last comment finally freed the rest of Melody's as she lunged for Alvida, fire in her eyes. "You don't know anything about mother!" Melody screamed as she landed a solid punch to Alvida's face. Alvida was blown back into a nearby table by the extreme force of the punch.

"I know that she was a bitch!" Alvida rose to her feet, wiped the traces of blood from her lip and spit the rest from her mouth. Alvida gritted her teeth and rushed in dealing a similar blow to her sister. Melody flew backwards and hit the wall with a resounding impact. Melody picked herself up and charged in and Alvida decided on a charge of her own. As the two met in the center they let their fists go without any restraint, but were surprised when they didn't feel the impact they were expecting. When the two cleared their heads of blind rage Melody realized her arm was being restrained by Sabo and Alvida was being restrained by Sanji.

"I won't let harm come to my crew," Sabo said with a stern expression.

On the other side Sanji took a drag of his cigarette before speaking. "It's not right to let two pretty ladies fight."

After another moment for the two to cool their heads Melody pulled away from Sabo and angrily headed towards the door, "I don't need this!" She exclaimed. Cleo and Helen were quick to follow her out, but not before getting the go ahead from Tenner.

"Alvida, what the heck-"

"Alvida..." The woman who stood up earlier called out. "13 years I've sat in this bar waiting, hoping, that you would show up again."

Alvida turned to look at the blonde haired woman who looked to be pushing past her middle age. Creases had developed on her face, but they were not so much that one couldn't tell that beauty once graced the woman. Her blonde hair was hardly kept well but she didn't seem to mind, simply having it tied and out of the way was enough for the woman. At first Alvida couldn't tell who she was looking at, but after a moment her expression let on that she knew.

"No matter how much you try to hide it you will always be my daughter," the woman said with a weak smile on her face.


End file.
